Princess Mononoke - Hiccstrid
by sakurap95
Summary: Inflicted with a deadly curse, the young warrior Hiccup heads west in search of a cure. There, he stumbles into a bitter conflict between Lady Mala, the proud people of Iron Town, and the enigmatic Princess Mononoke, a young girl raised by wolves, who will stop at nothing to prevent the humans from destroying her home and the forest spirits. Hiccstrid. Edits pending.
1. The Nameless God

_In ancient times… the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts, who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit… _

_For those were the days of gods and demons… _

Princess Mononoke

Chapter one – The Nameless God *

In lands far to the east of the forest, there was a small but peaceful village. This place was called Berk, and its inhabitants lived off the land and coexisted peacefully with the forest. On one fateful day that would change a young man's life forever, something evil crawled through the forest, slowly making its way toward the village.

Not far away, a boy, seventeen years of age, rode on a beautiful red elk through a series of trenches with a sense of urgency. His name was Hiccup, and his elk's name was Toothless.

A silly name, perhaps, but no worse than his own name. And Toothless seemed to like it just fine.

Hiccup, for his part, didn't exactly look like the princely type. He wasn't as large and robust as his late father had been, instead he took after his lanky mother. Over his fair complexion, freckles powdered his face. He dawned blue robes, and his auburn hair was tied back in a bun atop his head. His bun announced the fact that he was a prince.

That day had started the same as any other in the small village of Berk. And Prince Hiccup was spending his morning patrolling the boarder with his red elk, Toothless.

"Come on, bud," the boy spurred the elk into a race toward the far western boarder of the village.

Down the path, he saw a few familiar faces. Three young girls from the village. One of whom had the proud face of his little sister.

She waved to him and Hiccup pulled back on Toothless's reins to slow down.

"Girls!" he called, quickly approaching them and looking down on them from his saddle, "Something strange is going on. You have to hurry. Elder Gothi wants everybody back to the village at once."

"We just came from Ji-san," answered one girl.

"Did he see something?" Hiccup asked, urgently.

Kaya nodded. "Yes, in the forest. Something's wrong."

"The birds have all gone!" piped up one of her friends.

"The animals too!" the other added.

_That is very odd_, Hiccup thought.

He then nodded. "I'll go to the watchtower and check with Ji-san. You three hurry back home and be quick about it."

Kaya nodded just before he took off. "Alright. Be careful!" she called after him.

…

Hiccup rode on Toothless all the way until he reached the far edge of the village's boarder, next to the western forest. Hopping off Toothless with the same grace as the light-footed elk, Hiccup landed with a soft thud in the grass and quickly climbed up the wooden ladder of the watchtower.

On his way up, he stopped and narrowed his eyes in the distance.

There was something moving out there, something heading toward them, beneath the shadows of the trees. And he could hear a faint rumble. He almost thought it was his imagination, but Toothless perked his head up from the grass and swiveled his ears. And Hiccup trusted the elk's instincts even more than his own.

Pursing his lips, Hiccup continued to climb to the top of the tower, where Ji-san was staying on guard.

"Ji-san, did you see it too?" Hiccup asked, narrowing his eyes on the forest again.

The old man nodded grimly. "I did. It isn't human."

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder, back toward the village in the distance. "Elder Gothi is calling everyone back to the village."

"There. Look," the man said, pointing down at the trees.

Eyes steely, Hiccup took out an arrow from the quiver over his shoulder and notched it to the bowstring. He was silent as he pulled the string back, feeling the familiar strain of the twine.

Hiccup was the best marksman in the village.

Even as a cloud rolled by, Hiccup held his bow steady, aiming at the edge of the treeline for the thing to come out of hiding.

Then…

Bam! The low stone wall of the village broke apart on impact.

_Just what is that thing?_ Hiccup thought in awe.

He'd never seen anything like it before. This creature was huge, bigger than an elephant, and crawled over the ground like a spider. But its dark purple hide seemed to be rippling like water. Hiccup wasn't sure it even had a face, just two glowing red eyes.

"It's some kind of demon!" Ji-san exclaimed in alarm.

"A demon?" Hiccup asked, shocked.

Just then, a cloud above had dissipated, bathing the ground with sunlight, and the creature momentarily stopped. Its purple hide suddenly receded from the blast of light, revealing a giant brown boar underneath.

Now it was clear to Hiccup that its hide wasn't rippling, it was _wriggling_, with thousands upon thousands of dark purple worms. All of them eating away at the suffering boar.

But the worms engulfed the boar again, and the demon turned its glowing red eyes toward the elk standing below the watchtower.

"Run, Toothless! Run!" Hiccup yelled down at the elk.

But the poor elk was frozen stiff at the sight of the creature charging toward him.

Changing targets, Hiccup shot his arrow at the wooden post beside Toothless's head. Startled, Toothless jumped and ran back down the path toward the village.

The demon tried to slow down, but he rammed into the base of the watchtower with a mighty thud. Hiccup grabbed onto Ji-san as the wooden posts began to crack and give way.

Taking a risky dive, they jumped out of the tower as it fell and tumbled through the trees.

The creature was momentarily stunned, but then turned his red eyes onto the village and continued charging down the mountain.

"It's heading for the village! I've got to stop it!" Hiccup exclaimed, jumping out of the tree, ahead of Ji-san.

"Prince Hiccup, wait! Be careful!" the old man yelled after him. "That thing is cursed! Don't let it touch you!"

Hiccup heard his warning but didn't reply. He whistled for Toothless as he strung another, tighter, bowstring to his bow.

"Toothless, come!" he called.

Sure enough, the loyal elk came running back toward him, lowering his head to let the boy grab onto one of his horns as he ran by. With practiced ease, Hiccup hoisted himself on the elk's back, expertly pinning his knees against the saddle to steady himself.

Toothless leapt down the mountainside with grace and they soon swiftly caught up to the beast. Bursting from the foliage that tore at Hiccup's clothes, they soon pulled ahead and galloped ahead of the creature.

Hiccup turned around to face the demon and held out his hand.

"Calm your fury, o mighty lord!" he called, "Whatever you may be, god or demon, please leave us in peace!"

But the demon didn't slow down.

They at last emerged from the trees, with the creature hot on their tail. When the demon slowed, Hiccup hoped the blast of sunlight would scare the demon away.

But the demon turned its red eyes toward the village.

Hiccup could see Kaya and her friends in the distance, screaming in fright and running even faster down the path.

Hiccup raced to head the beast off again.

"Go back! Leave our village in peace!" he shouted at the demon, but it wouldn't listen. "Stop, please! Stop!"

One of the girls tripped badly and struggled in the grass to get up. Immediately noticing her missing friend, Kaya turned around and ran back, with nothing but her little dagger in hand. She stood firm, grounding herself between the demon and her friend.

"Kaya!" Hiccup gasped.

Without hesitation, he pulled back on his bow and let his arrow fly. The arrow stabbed the beast in the eye.

The demon squealed in pain, rearing in rage.

"Run!" Hiccup yelled at the girls.

Kaya and her second friend lifted their third friend to her feet and ran with her as fast as they could.

The tendrils from the demon suddenly shot out at Hiccup, even as Toothless did his best to run as fast as he could. The worms engulfed Hiccup's right forearm.

Hiccup struggled to pull free. He tried not to think about how sharp their teeth felt, sinking into his flesh.

With a yell, Hiccup pulled his arm free from the demon's grip. Turning Toothless in a U-turn, he readied another arrow as they charged straight at the beast.

Ignoring the worms still biting on his arm, Hiccup urged Toothless faster. He focused his aim, waiting until he was as close as he could be and fired again straight into its wounded eye. This arrow went much further inside.

As Hiccup and Toothless rode away, the tendrils coiled and writhed until, at last, they fell to the ground and died.

With a great thud, the boar fell to the ground and stopped his rampage at last. But where there should've been relief, there was a sinister energy, a dark chill in the air, Hiccup could feel it.

Hiccup winched as the wound on his arm burned, the worms seeming to melt into his skin.

Kaya ran up to help Hiccup down from Toothless's saddle.

"Kaya, don't touch it," he warned her. "This wound is evil."

Others from the village had gathered around them, wanting to help.

"The prince has been hurt!"

"Where's the wise woman?"

"Here she comes!"

Riding atop a village man, piggyback style, Elder Gothi came in a hurry, her braids swaying in the wind.

"You must keep away from him, all of you," she said. "Everyone, stay back."

Kaya stood up, worried about her brother's pain. "What shall we do?"

Gothi handed her a big gourd of purified water. "Take this and pour it over his wound, child, slowly."

Hiccup held out his arm as Kaya uncapped the stopper. Hiccup winced as the water seemed to hiss and make his wound burn even more.

Gothi then turned to the felled demon and bowed ceremoniously, her two grey braids nearly touching the ground.

"O nameless god of rage and hate, I bow before you. A mound will be raised, and funeral rites performed on this ground where you have fallen. Pass on in peace and bear us no hatred."

The boar's deep voice spoke with heavy labored breaths, glaring as blood pooled from its mouth, "Disgusting little creatures, soon all of you will feel my hate and suffer as I have suffered…"

Then its flesh began to rot and seemed to melt away, leaving nothing but its bloody bones. The grass around it browned in the wake of the pooling blood and the worms all disappeared.

No one spoke after that ominous warning.

…

It wasn't until much later, within Gothi's hut that the matter would be addressed again.

Gothi murmured a prayer and shook a handful of colored stones in her gnarled hands. Hiccup sat opposite her, waiting patiently. A few other members of the village council waited on the sidelines for Gothi's premonition.

She dropped the stones and grabbed her staff, shaking her head.

Finally, she spoke, "I'm afraid this is very bad. The stones tell me the boar god came from far to the west. He had some kind of poison inside him, driving him mad, a poisonous hatred that consumed his heart and flesh, and turned him into a demon monster."

She looked up from her stones at the boy across from her. "Prince Hiccup?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"Show everyone your right arm," she instructed.

Hiccup unwrapped the bandages on his arm and held it out. Everyone in the council gasped at the deep purple marks coiling within his skin.

"What does it mean?" asked a man in the council.

Gothi ignored him, focusing on the boy. "My prince, are you prepared to learn what fate the stones have foretold you?"

Hiccup grimly nodded. "Yes, I was prepared the very moment that I let my arrow fly."

This was true. It was the first lesson he learned in archery; the moment you let loose an arrow, it was a decision you can't take back. As Prince, Hiccup took his lessons to heart.

Gothi nodded, but she smiled sadly.

"The infection will spread throughout your whole body, bone and flesh alike. It will cause you great pain and then kill you."

Hiccup had no words. Although he had a feeling this was the news he'd receive.

The other council members were greatly disturbed by this.

"Is there no way we can stop it?" one man asked.

"The prince got that wound by defending our village and saving our lives!"

"Do we just sit here and watch him die?"

Gothi shook her head. "You cannot alter your fate, my prince. However, you can rise to meet it, if you choose."

She turned and reached into her sleeve, pulling out a strange, dented object.

"Look at this," she said. "This iron ball was found in the boar's body. This is what hurt him so. It shattered his bones and burned its way deep inside him. This is what turned him into a demon."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes on the ball as he continued to listen to her.

"There is evil at work in the land to the west, Prince Hiccup. It's your fate to go there and see what you can see with eyes unclouded by hate. You may find a way to lift the curse. You understand?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes."

There was silence until Old Wrinkly sighed heavily.

"We are the last of the Emishi. It's been five hundred years since the Emperor destroyed our tribe and drove the remnants of our people to the east. Some managed to survive here for all these years, but the blood of our tribe has grown thinner and weaker with each generation. Now our last prince must cut his hair and leave us, never to return? Sometimes I think the gods are laughing at us."

The other council members looked just as defeated as he.

Without a word, Hiccup took a small dagger and reached up to cut his hair. He remained stoic and methodical in his actions. Finally, the topknot came free and his hair fell into his face. He bowed to the alter, and to Gothi, and the council members.

Gothi grimly spoke once more, "Our laws forbid us from watching you go, Hiccup. Whatever comes to pass now, you are dead to us forever."

The council members bowed their heads, mostly in shame, but out of respect for their ancient laws.

Hiccup didn't mind. He honestly didn't care. This was his fault. He knew that. He brought this on himself. Maybe if he'd seen a different course of action to take, he would have done so. But he didn't. And he wouldn't have changed the consequences knowing he'd saved his sister and perhaps the rest of the villagers.

Hiccup had no idea why he was so calm about this. He should've been furious about how unfair the rules were. Or sad that he'd never see his family again. And he _was_, but somehow, he also _wasn't._

Hiccup silently stood and walked out the door of the hut.

He could hear Gothi murmur softly, "Farewell."

…

Hiccup was silent as he packed his things. Just as Gothi said, he was ignored by everyone in the village now. He was nothing more than a ghost to them.

Hiccup draped a grass cape over his shoulders and a red hood and mask over his face. All his worldly possessions were to be taken with him: his sword, his bow and quiver of arrows, the clothes on his back and Toothless.

In the dead of night, Hiccup tugged on Toothless's reins, pulling him out of the stable with the other red elk.

The banished prince was slowly riding Toothless out of the village when he heard quick footsteps approaching. A small figure came out of the shadows and emerged in the light of the moon.

"Kaya, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked, keeping his voice down. "You know it's forbidden."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think I care about that?" she said, riffling in her pocket. She took out something and held it up to him. "I came to give you this, so you won't forget your little sister."

It was a necklace that Hiccup had originally made for her birthday. The normally blue gem that shined in the day, now shimmered purple like the night sky.

"Your crystal dagger? Kaya, I can't take this," he insisted, holding it back out to her.

But she shook her head. Her eyes were big and misty. "Please, keep it with you, brother, to protect you. You must take it with you. Please, I want you to have it, so you won't forget."

Hiccup pulled down the mask under his chin, smiling at her once more. "Kaya, you know I could never forget you." With a nod, he pocketed the gem.

Looking forward, Hiccup spurred Toothless into a canter, and the red elk rode out of the village gate, leaving his familiar home behind and riding into the great unknown.


	2. Johan

Chapter two – Johan*

Hiccup and Toothless rode through the mountains for days, crossing long sweeping green valleys and passing great bodies of water. They didn't see any humans for quite a long stretch of the journey, although Hiccup supposed it was better, knowing that his village was still safely kept a secret from the world.

Hiccup and Toothless lived off the land as they traveled, periodically taking breaks to eat, sleep, and wash in the river. It was tiresome and lonely sometimes, but Hiccup was glad to have Toothless with him.

One day, they saw smoke in the distance and came upon a village. Upon approaching the far edge of the village's field, Hiccup stopped Toothless and narrowed his eyes at the many people in the distance.

He could see samurai clan banners flapping in the wind and the flash of katanas in the sunlight. But what confused Hiccup was the absence of warriors to fight against the samurai. There were only villagers running with their belongings and crying out in terror.

_This isn't a battle,_ he realized, _but a massacre._

"Look, up there on the hill!"

Hiccup was broken out of his thoughts and turned to see a small group of men cut off the path behind him. They jeered at each other, eager in their bloodlust.

"It's a warrior!"

"Good! His head is mine!"

They fired arrows at him and Hiccup spurred Toothless to run.

Seeing his path was about to be cut off, Hiccup pulled up his mask over his face and readied his bow. A line of escaping villagers were crossing the path ahead of him, the samurai quickly catching up to them.

One of the escaping villagers, a young woman, had tripped and was about to be slashed across the back. Hiccup raised his bow, prepared for self-defense.

Hiccup aimed his bow, but his arm suddenly started hurting. He let loose his arrow anyway. With unnatural strength, it flew through the air and ripped off the arms of the samurai as he raised his sword.

He rode past the men, clutching his cursed arm. His arm bones seemed to burn and his flesh pulse with excitement.

_My arm! What's happening to me?_ He thought.

"Stop him!" a man on horseback cried.

Hiccup looked over the field across from him and saw two other horsemen pursuing him to avenge their comrade.

"Hurry! Stop him before he gets away!" one yelled as he fired his bow.

Hiccup grabbed another arrow, preparing himself but yelled back in warning, "Let me pass! I'm warning you!"

The arrow whizzed just over Hiccup's shoulder and Hiccup fired back. This time, the arrow flew with even more incredible power and sliced off the horseman's head.

Hiccup clutched his arm in pain. Toothless quickly rode on, leaving their pursuers behind.

The samurai stopped his horse in front of the other one, coaxing the animal to a stop. The decapitated man's body limply rolled out of the saddle and fell to the ground.

The man looked back at the strange boy and his elk disappearing into the distance and scowled.

"A demon…"

…

Much further in the safety and shade of the forest, Hiccup stopped for water at a small stream. The water tapered over the rocks and fell over a ledge in a little waterfall. He dipped his wounded arm under the curtain of water, in an attempt to help purify the wound, but he frowned at it.

"The mark's getting bigger," he noted.

…

Hiccup and Toothless traveled for a while, reaching another small town. Covering his face, Hiccup tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible in the market place, but even so, he was drawing in a small crowd of spectators.

A child tugged on her mother's sleeve, "Mommy, look at him!"

A pair of men whispered to each other, "Never seen him before."

But Hiccup ignored them, staying close to Toothless's side.

He found a woman selling rations of food and he asked for one bag of rice. He handed the woman a small piece of gold in return.

"Will this be enough?" he asked.

She took the nugget and scowled, which slightly surprised Hiccup. "Hey! What are you trying to pull? This isn't money. Give me back my rice, you little thief!"

Before Hiccup could reply, a middle-aged man - donning the robes of a monk, Hiccup realized - sporting a dark brown beard, and carrying a large red umbrella over his shoulder stepped in and held his hand out politely. "Excuse me, miss, but might I inspect that?" he asked.

"Go ahead," she said.

The man held up the gold nugget to the light and his blue eyes widened. "Mmm? My god! But this is a lump of pure gold, you silly woman!"

The people around them gasped as the man continued, "But if it's money you want, I'll pay for the rice and take this nugget off your hands. What do you say?"

He turned to address the crowd, "My good people, is there a money-changer who could tell us how much this is worth?" No one spoke up. The man shrugged. "No? All right. Well, I'm just a monk, but I'd say three bags of rice at least." The crowd gasped, and the man smiled, "That's right, maybe even more!"

Seeing there was no point in him staying, Hiccup simply turned and left with his rice.

The man with the umbrella called out to him, "Hey, where are you going?"

"Where are _you_ going?" the woman snapped, grabbing his wrist and taking back the nugget. "Give me my gold!"

…

Hiccup hopped on Toothless's back and they walked out of the village, set on heading further west.

"Hey! Wait up!" he heard the man call.

Hiccup didn't slow Toothless down, but he wasn't in any rush either.

The man with the umbrella caught up to them and briskly walked at their side. "You can't just rush off now. We've only just met," he said with a chuckle. "People call me Johan. So, we have got your rice and everything's fine."

Hiccup didn't respond.

"You're a man of few words. I understand," the man said. "Well, don't you even think of thanking me. It was my pleasure. In fact, I should be thanking you, really. You see, I was caught in that battle. I saw what you did to those samurai. You fight like a demon. Say, where'd you learn to fight like that?" he rattled on.

But Hiccup wasn't listening to him anymore. He turned his head slightly, noticing a small group of men suspiciously following them at a distance.

The man slightly turned his head too. "I see you noticed we're being followed. That's what we get for waving that gold nugget around. They'll wait 'til we're asleep, then slit our throats." The man gave a sly smile. "What do you say we give 'em a little demonstration of how fast we can run, huh?"

And without any other prompting, the man took off at a bumbling run, definitely having practiced this before.

Hiccup merely quirked the tiniest of smiles on his lips and nudged Toothless a little faster.

It didn't take long for them to lose their pursuers.

…

"So the demon monster turned out to be a giant boar," Johan said, stirring the pot of gruel over the campfire.

Hiccup nodded. "I followed its trail westward through the mountains to where the samurai were attacking those villagers. But then…" he trailed off.

"You lost it. That's life," Johan said with a shrug. Pointing his ladle, he gestured to a mound, "See this place here? When I came here last, a few years back, this was a lovely little village. But then there must have been a flood or a landslide or a fire... The only sure thing is that everybody's dead."

Hiccup was silent as the man scrapped some food into his bowl. "These days, there are angry ghosts all around us, dead from wars, sickness, starvation. And nobody cares." Johan shrugged. "So, you say you're under a curse? So what? So's the whole damn world."

Hiccup looked down at the ground. "I was wrong to fight in that village. Two men are dead because of me."

The man reached out his hand for Hiccup to pass over his bowl. "Samurai thugs. You win some, you lose some. Here, hand me your bowl. My point is, everybody dies. Some now, some later. From brothel girl to Emperor."

Hiccup leaned forward to give his bowl. Johan paused and admired the craftmanship of the boy's rice bowl as he filled it with gruel.

"I've heard them say that the Emperor has promised an entire hill of gold to anyone who can help him live forever…" Johan raised an eyebrow and watched Hiccup with a slight smirk, "But say, that's a beautiful bowl. I've seen one other like it. Have you ever heard of the Emishi people? They're said to ride red elks. They also use stone arrowheads just like you."

Hiccup kept his face passive and continued to slowly eat from his bowl.

The man shrugged. "Of course, they were all wiped out five hundred years ago." He reached over the pot to scoop out seconds for himself. "Ah, don't worry. I won't tell anyone where you're from. Anyway, I've got much bigger fish to fry."

Hiccup reached into his pocket and pulled out the iron ball. "Have you ever come across anything like this before?" he asked.

Johan took the ball with his chopsticks, mildly inspecting it. "Never have."

"It came from the giant boar. It was inside him," Hiccup answered. "I'm sure it was that little ball of iron that ultimately killed him."

Johan handed the ball back and Hiccup replaced it inside his pouch. They ate for a little while in silence.

Then Johan spoke again, "There's a place high in the mountains far to the west of here. It's where the spirit of the forest dwells and it's a very dangerous place for humans. To enter there is certain death."

Hiccup leaned forward in interest. "The Spirit of the Forest?"

Johan nodded. "I've been told the beasts there are all giants, just as they were in the dawn of time."

Hiccup pursed his lips in thought, and they silently continued their meal.

…

At dawn the next day, Hiccup silently packed his things without waking Johan. Bowing once to the traveler in thanks, Hiccup hopped on Toothless and they started out west.

Unbeknownst to him, Johan was a little awake.

"See ya there, my friend," he murmured before going back to sleep.


	3. Lady Mala

Chapter three – Lady Mala*

Not so far to the west of Hiccup, herds of oxen traveled along a steep path that curved around a mountain. It was dark and wet up there, and the oxen drivers whipped their rice-carrying beasts in an effort to keep moving. Scattered around various points of the caravan were people holding what appeared to be large sticks wrapped in paper to keep them dry. They also had small umbrellas over them in a further attempt to keep whatever was under them from the rain that was pouring down.

"Come on! Move it! Hyah!" the oxen drivers yelled, whipping their cattle to move faster up the mountain path.

It wasn't easy though, even if they weren't carrying heavy bales of rice and climbing in the heavy rain. Beside them was a cliff with a sheer drop. Anyone falling from that height was nearly certain to never come back.

The guardsmen stood on either side of the long line of oxen and their drivers. They were glaring into the dark, desolate mountainside, waiting for their enemies to strike.

It was only a matter of time.

Under one of the umbrellas stood a big hulk of a man, and next to him was an elegant looking lady. The man did not look very smart, but he certainly looked tough. He was protected from the rain with a grass cape and hat. The lady, however, had seemingly delicate features and was protected with much finer garments. She was wearing a rain jacket and an elegant red hat, and she radiated an aura of authority.

"The sooner we get this rice home, the sooner we eat. Let's move!" called the proud looking woman from a high rock along a cliff curving around the mountain.

A panting man ran up to her and gasped, "Lady Mala! Coming this way! Wolves!"

The woman narrowed her green eyes to where the man pointed. High on the mountain behind them, a pair of glimmering white wolves, the size of horses, were running straight toward them. On the back of one, rode something vaguely human, wearing a pelt of white fur and a round, red mask.

The woman turned to her men, shouting, "Don't let the oxen panic! Stay calm! Take up your positions!"

Her guard opened a large umbrella and staked it into the ground. Many of the guards did the same. They then took out their large rifles – more like cannons really – and hurried to load their weapons.

"Keep your powder dry!" the guard yelled. "Make sure you wait for them to come within range!"

The wolves ran closer and closer toward them. The woman raised her arm.

"Ready… and fire!" she yelled.

The air filled with sounds of explosions and flashes from the cannons. Earth exploded around the wolves as they ran. The person riding on the wolf's back pointed for the wolves to turn around, running further out of range.

"They're getting away!" yelled one man.

But the wolves were not retreating. Instead they turned around again, heading along a steeper trail right toward them.

The proud woman held her composure and barked to her men, "Second round! Fire!"

Once again, the air filled with explosions. This time, the wolves were forced to separate and spilt off, pelted with shrapnel. But both turned around and retreated further up the mountain out of range. They oddly weren't returning.

"That was it?" asked Snotlout. "They weren't so big."

The woman beside him huffed a laugh, "They're just pups. Wait 'til you see their mother."

The wolves didn't come back, and everyone was on edge.

"Where are they?" they whispered to each other.

Then all of a sudden, without any warning, a giant white wolf, bigger than any elephant, came streaking down the mountain, her jaws flashing pearly teeth, her body wiping two magnificent tails. Her green eyes deadly. The wolf goddess of this forest.

"It's Moro!" shouted the woman, shouldering her rifle.

The wolf goddess bore her fangs down on an ox, pinning it to the ground on its side. The nearby men panicked and ran. Before the guards could turn their guns on the wolf, Moro ran through the line of oxen, pushing many men and oxen alike over the cliff and into the river below.

Men screamed and panicked, but neither Moro nor the woman cared. They glared eyes at each other as the wolf fought her way toward her intended target.

"Come on," Mala muttered, taking aim.

Finally, when there were no more obstructions in her sights, she fired her rifle. The bullet punctured in the side of the wolf's breast, sinking deep inside beside her heart. The goddess ignored this and continued on her quest to kill her enemy. She very well might have if it weren't for Snotlout. At pointblank range, he fired his rifle, but instead of shooting a bullet, his weapon spat fire, engulfing the goddess in flames. Her once pristine pelt charred, Moro tumbled off the side of the cliff, disappearing in the mist and rain.

Snotlout laughed, "Ha, ha! We killed her!"

Mala shook her head. "You forget she is a god. It will take more than that."

Looking around at the wreckage of the convoy, Snotlout frowned. Some oxen were lying dead or injured on the mountain pass, and many more had gone over the cliff. "Well she certainly did some damage," he noted.

Mala simply nodded. "We move out now," she said.

"What about the men she pushed off the cliff?" he wanted to protest.

Mala marched past him. "They're dead. Let's get the living home."

He couldn't argue with her. In these lands, her orders were law.


	4. The Wolf Girl

Chapter four – The Wolf Girl*

Before long, Hiccup and Toothless came upon a fast-moving river, frothing and brown from all the rain. He gasped when he saw the debris and dead oxen floating in the water. Then his eyes caught a man washed ashore on the embankment.

The boy hopped down and rush to the man's side. He held his hand over the man's mouth, feeling for breath. Hiccup was rather surprised. "He's breathing."

Hiccup pulled the man under his arms, out of the water, and further on shore beside Toothless. The elk stood by as the boy ran to pick up another body out of the rocks blocking the river's flow.

Then Toothless suddenly perked his ears, pointing his nose further up river. Noticing his friend's change, Hiccup's senses went on alert. His green eyes were steely as he pulled up his mask and grabbed his bow.

He snuck further up the river, hiding behind a large uprooted tree, wedged between the rocks. Between the branches, Hiccup narrowed his eyes in search of movement across the river.

Then Hiccup gasped and his eyes widened in amazement.

A giant wolf with two tails had been washed up on the opposite shore. Out of the woods emerged two other wolves, and… a girl?

Seeing the wound on the wolf, a look of concern crossed her face and she immediately dove head first into its bloody white fur and started sucking and spitting out infected blood.

As she worked, the large wolf sniffed the air and growled low to the girl. With a snap of her head, she stopped and turned and looked straight at Hiccup with deadly accuracy. Hiccup held his breath for a second time.

Hiccup had never seen a god before, aside from the demon boar. But this girl, she was so at home among the wolves, he could only assume she was one of them. That she was a god too. She was _that_ stunning.

She was about his age, with well-toned skin from living in the sun, and well-defined muscles. She was dressed in a dark blue, tattered dress and wore a white wolf pelt as a cape. Her blonde hair was cut short and danced in the wind while her bangs were held back with a simple headband that spanned her forehead. Her face was marked with red war paint, shaped like fangs. Her earlobes dawned a pair of sand dollar shell earrings, and her beaded necklace was adorned with a string of long-beaked bird skulls.

Hiccup couldn't believe it. She was so wild-looking, and yet… there was just something in her ethereal blue eyes that he resonated with, even though he couldn't put his finger on it.

As she faced his hiding spot, the girl deliberately spit out her mouthful of poisoned blood on the ground and wiped her face with her hand, leaving a smear of blood across her mouth. Her narrowed eyes conveyed just as much hostility as the wolf goddess's snarl did.

Seeing no point in hiding, Hiccup stood tall and called across the water, "My name is Hiccup! I have traveled far from the lands to the east. Are you ancient gods and have I come at last to the realm of the Spirit of the Forest?"

For a long time, the girl didn't answer. She merely narrowed her eyes at him. Still, Hiccup waited for a response.

After a while, the wolves decided to leave, and the girl hopped on one of the wolf's backs.

"Go away," she curtly called back.

She rode on her wolf beside the large wounded wolf, cautious of its injuries. The last remaining wolf picked up one of the dead oxen in its jaws and carried it away, trailing after them.

Hiccup blinked as they disappeared into the forest again. He hadn't quite expected that for an answer. And before he knew it, they were gone, like nothing had happened.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a man yelling. Hiccup ran back to Toothless and realized that one of the men had woken up. He was crawling backward, despite his obviously broken arm and leg, in terror.

Hiccup was even more confused when he saw what the man was screaming about.

"A kodama!" Hiccup exclaimed to himself in surprise. "I never thought I'd see one of them here." He knelt beside the man, smiling. "Easy there. You don't want to make your injuries worse, do you?"

Still the skinny man moaned in distress. The kodama rattled its head back and forth, rattling like a toy, but the man moaned harder.

"It's all right, he's a tree spirit," Hiccup explained, "He brings good luck. It's a sign the forest is healthy."

"But they'll lead their lord and master right to us!" the man exclaimed, his long, wet, blonde dreadlocks wiping about.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Who do you mean? You mean those wolves I just saw?"

The man shook his head. "No, I mean a _real monster_! Like a huge enormous deer! Except they say it's got a human face sometimes, and then at night they say it – AHH! Where'd it go?"

The kodama had stood up and walked off, fading away until it disappeared. But the man soon cried again in panic. "AHHH! Look! Reinforcements! We're doomed!"

Another kodama appeared, sitting cross-legged on Toothless's saddle, staring at them with childlike amusement. Two more were standing on the rocky ledge above them.

Hiccup remained calm. "If Toothless isn't afraid, then we have nothing to worry about here."

Another one appeared just a few feet from the man's side, making him jump, and accidentally tripping over and falling on his face.

Hiccup stood and approached the one kodama spirit sitting on Toothless's saddle. "Would you be kind enough to grant us passage through your forest, little one?" he asked.

The kodama seemed to smile, then turned around and disappeared, but not before waving for him to follow.

…

**Please review! Thanks! ;D **

**And to those wondering, yes, I made the cover image myself. **

**I do this out of love for the original movie! (And I heart Hiccstrid, but what else is new?) **

**Hope you enjoy! **


	5. In the Sacred Forest

Chapter five – In the Sacred Forest*

The number of kodamas following them had grown the further they travelled through the forest. Toothless had the conscious man atop his back while Hiccup carried the other man on his own.

The entire ride, the man named Tuffnut quietly moaned in distress every time a kodama appeared. "Uh… Sir," he called up to him, "I really think we should turn around now. I wonder, did I mention that _no humans_ have ever made it through this forest _alive? _There's a lovely trail back across the river."

Hiccup kept his pace, replying with a grunt of effort, "The current's too swift for us to get across, and your friend's injuries are very bad. If we don't get him back soon, he doesn't have a chance."

The journey was not an easy one. Hiccup had to stop every few minutes to catch his breath. Even though his training to be an Emishi prince had been rigorous, carrying over a hundred and fifty pounds of weight while climbing the winding terrain was not an easy task.

Shaking his head, the boy refocused his attention on the little kodama that ran ahead of him, its little white butt almost wiggling tauntingly.

Hiccup chuckled to himself, "Hey, little fellow, are you showing us the way or just getting us more lost?"

The kodama kept running ahead of him but swiveled his head to smile at him. Hiccup wasn't sure what to make of that answer.

Still, they climbed further and further. Hiccup panted as he carried the man higher and higher up the hillside, stopping momentarily in his stride to rest.

"Please, sir, I'm really pretty sure they're not trying to help us get home," Tuffnut called warily. "Oh my god, there's thousands of them!" he whined, but Hiccup didn't listen to him.

He was doing his best to catch his breath and get his second wind. Or was it his third? Fifth?

Almost to mock him, a line of kodamas were starting to climb ahead of him, some even mimicking him and carrying another kodama friend of theirs. Hiccup smirked at their impish behavior and pushed onward.

Finally, they reached the crest of the hill and the line of kodamas were climbing the roots of a humongous tree, disappearing into the trunk.

Hiccup smiled. "Look at that. That must be their mother, a fine old tree."

The kodamas in the treetops rattled in a chorus as though they heard his compliment.

Soon, they crested the hill and the path suddenly opened up. Hiccup's jaw dropped in awe.

"Oh, wow. This place is magical."

They came upon a quiet marsh. The trees were bigger than anything Hiccup had ever seen. He doubted there was anything else in the world that was as tall. They towered above them, almost like gods themselves. The canopy filtered in just enough sunlight to give the place an ethereal glow. Everywhere was covered in a soft layer of green moss. Little flowers bloomed here and there. The pools of water were so clear and so eerily still that Hiccup almost thought it was glass. A few blue butterflies fluttered in the air lazily.

This was a serene place.

Hiccup stopped when he noticed large tracks at his feet. A large set a wolf pawprints and a set of normal-sized human footprints.

"The tracks of those wolves and the girl with them…" Hiccup muttered to himself, smiling a little. "This place must be where the four of them live."

"Sir," Tuffnut spoke up nervously again, "I think maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere. This is a place for gods and demons."

"I think we're safe," Hiccup said, setting the unconscious man down to the ground gently. "We'll rest a bit."

He feigned off his tiredness, but Hiccup was quite a bit more exhausted than he let on. Surely a few minutes would be fine.

Stepping away from the group momentarily, he took out his rice bowl and knelt beside a little stream to scoop some water. As he rinsed out the bowl, however, Hiccup paused and noticed something odd.

A group of blue butterflies congregated to a moss-covered spot, a short distance in front of him. There, beneath the butterflies, was a strange imprint in the moss.

"More tracks?" Hiccup muttered to himself.

But this wasn't a wolf print. This one had three toes. And there was another print, just below the water's surface, in the sand.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes and looked around. "Whatever made these made them recently…"

He looked around, his eyes scanning long and hard… but nothing seemed amiss in the forest.

But then, Hiccup gasped, his eyes going wide.

Just in the distance, between the trees, was a golden glow. Hiccup thought it was sunlight at first, but then he remembered it was currently around high noon. It couldn't be the sun. This light had to have some other strange source.

As Hiccup watched, a herd of deer slowly walked by. But then one of them stopped and looked straight at him.

Hiccup couldn't see much more than a silhouette, but he thought this deer amazingly had ten, no, _more,_ antlers sprouting from his head. A deer god?

Hiccup stared in awe, wondering if his eyes were betraying him, but all of a sudden, his arm started acting up. It wiggled and writhed as Hiccup tried to hold his arm still.

"Sir! What's going on? Are you all right?" Tuffnut asked in concern.

In an effort to alleviate the pain and calm the mark, Hiccup thrust his arm under the water. It seemed to help, but he still winced as his arm throbbed, almost like it had a heartbeat that wasn't his own.

Finally, the glow from the spirit died away in the corner of his eyes and his arm stopped throbbing. Once it was gone, Hiccup felt like he could breathe again. He panted in relief and could feel the sweat that had gathered on his face.

"Uh, sir, what just happened there?" Tuffnut asked. "You went white as a sheet all of a sudden. I warned you about this place."

Hiccup still felt rather pale, but he didn't mention this. He just sat beside the unconscious man, helping him sit up, and slowly tipped the bowl into his mouth.

"Did you see anything just then?" Hiccup asked.

Tuffnut cocked his head to the side. "Like what?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Forget it."

The bowl of water was soon gulped down by the weak man in Hiccup's arms. "Hang on just a little longer," he tried to comfort him. "You're almost home."

The weak man moaned in his delirium, "I failed her…"

Gently setting the man down, Hiccup looked once more at the spot where he'd seen the strange deer, but nothing was there. The forest was peaceful once more.

"It's gone… whatever it was…"


	6. Iron Town

Chapter six – Iron Town*

**For those wondering, don't worry, this story isn't going to be exactly the same as the movie. How? You'll have to find out. ;) Also, same with all my stories, edits pending. **

…

Not long after that incident in the marsh, Hiccup lead their small party further out of the forest, leaving that magical place behind. They were finally nearing the edge of the forest.

As they walked, Hiccup felt a surge of strength return to him.

_That's strange,_ he thought. _Suddenly, he doesn't feel heavy at all._

Tuffnut seemed to realize the same thing. He experimentally clenched and unclenched his fingers. A grin quickly grew on his face.

"M-My arm! It doesn't hurt! It's healed!" he cried, throwing it up in joy. But there was a loud crack and Tuffnut recoiled his arm again, wincing through gritted teeth, "Nope. Still broken."

Soon, they came to a sunny, grassy clearing and, seeing what lay ahead of them, the smile returned to Tuffnut's face.

"Sir, you were right!" he exclaimed with a laugh of relief. "We made it back home, just like you said!"

Hiccup's eyes widened at the sight before him.

The river they'd been following connected to a lake. On the far side of the lake was an island. But on this island, instead of more green foliage like the forest, this place was the color of unearthed dirt. A busy place, a mass of thatched roofs and billowing smoke, all hiding behind a huge spiky, wooden wall. Even the rocky base of the island had sharpened wooden stakes to make it difficult for anyone to climb. The only way in or out was a bridge connecting to the mainland, guarded by a large wooden gate. He could hear the clanging of metal all the way from across the lake.

"It's a fortress," Hiccup muttered to himself.

"It's Lady Mala's Iron Town," Tuffnut explained with a note of pride. "We make iron here from the ore in the sand."

Anticipating the meeting of new people, Hiccup tugged his mask back over his face, readjusted his hold on the man on his back and carried onward.

Tuffnut started yelling to a few fishermen who were standing by a boat on the shoreline.

"Hey, there! Hello, it's me!" he cried, waving his good arm. "Helllooo!"

The men seemed to look on them in fear, and Hiccup grew a little nervous. But Tuffnut didn't seem to care.

"Look! It's me! Tuffnut, the ox driver!" he laughed like a maniac.

…

Back inside the fortress, increasingly more people started running about, spreading the good news that one of their own had miraculously returned.

"It's Tuffnut! He's alive! Tuffnut's alive!"

"Come on! Let's go see!" people would respond, jumping up from their duties.

"It's true! Tuffnut's alive!" they'd cry, all streaming down to the shore to see for themselves.

"Quiet! Stop that noise! I'm trying to tally these accounts here, so shut up!" barked Snotlout. Math had never been his best subject.

"Haven't you heard? Tuffnut's come back from the dead!" a man stopped to say before hurrying to the gate.

"What?" Snotlout exclaimed.

…

Increasingly more and more people came pouring out from the front gate and ran down the hill to the approaching boat.

"There they are!" people shouted in excitement.

Soon there was a decent crowd pouring out of the main gate, helping to pull the boat to shore.

Toothless had swam across the lake beside the boat on his own. People nearby stood aside from the strange animal they'd never seen before, giving the elk enough room to shake the water from himself.

Hiccup was still a bit nervous, but seeing how comfortable Toothless was, Hiccup felt a bit more at ease. Perhaps he was a bit out of practice being around so many humans at once.

A few particular men shoved their way to the front of the crowd to see Tuffnut personally. They immediately berated him with questions.

"This is unbelievable!"

"Where are the others, Tuffnut?"

"Yes, is my son with you?"

Tuffnut was glad to be back and greeted so warmly, but he frowned sadly at the last question. "No, I'm afraid we're the only ones that made it."

The air grew a little more somber with that news, but that didn't stop the men from helping Tuffnut and the other injured man out of the boat.

Hiccup stood to the side, staying passive.

The rest of the curious citizens had crowded around the gate and whispered to each other. One woman grumbled, "It's never the guards that die."

Before any more questions could be asked, Snotlout eventually pushed his way to the front of the crowd and looked down on the small boat, followed by two guards in his elite team. He scowled.

One of his men beside him whispered in a hushed tone. "That man in the weird costume, sir? Who do you think it could be?"

"He's obviously an outsider," Snotlout growled.

While a group of men helped carry the unconscious man, Tuffnut's friends helped carry him out of the boat onto shore. Remembering Hiccup, he raised his voice and shouted, "Listen to me, everyone! This stranger saved our lives! He carried the rifleman all the way back here. You should be grateful to him. Ow! Hey, watch the arm!"

Snotlout growled to himself before barking, "Hold it right there!"

The people parted away for the captain of the guard to march all the way down the hill to the stranger. Hiccup merely stood his ground, turning to the man, silently.

Snotlout nodded to him in acknowledgement. "I'm very grateful to you for bringing these men back to us, stranger, but something doesn't smell right." He increasingly scowled as he rambled on, "You got back almost as fast as we did, and through the forbidden forest! On top of that, you did it with two badly injured men, and you want me to believe that you…"

But a new voice interrupted him. Running down the hill, a girl, called out, "Tuffnut! Tuffnut! You're alive!"

Tuffnut practically beamed, opening his arms for her. "Ruffnut! My sister!"

It was easy to tell that they were siblings. They both had the same long blonde hair and gray-blue eyes. Once they were side by side, it was easy to tell they were twins.

But upon meeting him and seeing the state he was in, Ruffnut's face changed into a fierce scowl. "Now that's just great! How are you going to drive the oxen all banged up and mangled?!" she shouted.

"But Sis…" Tuffnut faltered.

"You scared me half to death!" she shouted, "Don't you 'sis' me! I wish the wolves had eaten you. Then maybe I could've found a real man!"

The crowd of people started snickering at them while Tuffnut wilted. "Sis, can we discuss this later?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Ruff, save your sweet nothings for some other time."

Some men laughed at this, but Ruffnut turned on Snotlout with a glare, pacing over to him. "And as for you, Snotlout! A fine captain of the guard you are! Always strutting and throwing your weight around once the danger's _over!_ You never do a lick of work around here!"

Snotlout shrank a little at this, slightly hurt. "That's unfair and untrue," he grumbled, crossing his arms in a huff.

After putting him in his place, Ruffnut took a deep breath and turned to Hiccup. To his relief, she seemed to have cooled off.

"Thanks, stranger. My brother's an idiot, but I'm glad he's safe and sound," she said with a smile.

Hiccup smiled back. "That's a relief. For a while I thought I'd done something wrong by bringing him back home."

Ruffnut blinked for a second then laughed at his charm.

"Say, why don't you take the mask off? I bet you're really handsome," she commented, looking him up and down.

Hiccup felt a bit nervous again, but before he could find a reasonable response, another melodic voice called out.

"Snotlout? Bring the stranger to me later. I would like to thank him personally."

That was when Hiccup saw her for the first time.

This woman wasn't like other women he'd seen in typical villages. For one, she wore the dress of a man and her ginger blonde hair was tied up like a shira byoshi. Although she held herself with a certain elegance, like royalty.

Her eyes rather reminded Hiccup of the same fierceness as the wolf girl, but the look in this woman's eyes was quite different.

The wolf girl looked at Hiccup with the neutrality of a beast. This woman looked at him with a hidden hunger. For what? He wasn't sure yet.

She turned her head and looked down at Tuffnut.

"Tuffnut."

Tuffnut stuttered, "Uh, y-yes?" amazed she was even talking to him.

She smiled serenely. "I'm happy you're back, and I apologize."

Tuffnut just nodded dumbly. "Uh, okay."

Ruffnut put her hands on her hips. "Uh-oh, milady, you really shouldn't tell him things like that. If you're too nice to him, he'll walk all over you."

The lady bowed her head slightly to his sister. "I hope you'll forgive me, too, Ruffnut. I was responsible. I should never have let it happen."

Ruffnut waved her hand. "Oh, that's all right. Milady, if you hadn't been there, the wolves would have eaten everyone, and then we'd all have to find ourselves new husbands!"

Nearly everyone burst into laughter and the air was filled with merriment once more.

The lady turned her attention back to Hiccup once more. "Get some rest, traveler. I will see you this evening."

With that, she walked off, and everyone slowly went back to work.

Hiccup idly pulled down the mask covering his face, if only to be polite.

Ruffnut saw him and smiled slyly. "Oh hey! You're not handsome, you're gorgeous!"

…

As day turned to night, there was a loud metal clanging as the end of the day was called. The people working outside the town filed in through the main gate, chatting happily and eagerly awaiting dinner.

When they were sure everyone was tallied for, ten men worked together at the wenches to lower the heavy gate. Finally, the gate lowered with a heavy boom.

Inside, the town was a buzz of activity as people traded around rations of rice.

"Here! You know, they had to fight off wolves to get this rice through!"

"Just dish it out!"

Although they were loud and shouted at each other, everywhere Hiccup looked, there were mostly smiles on the villagers' faces.

The men had invited Hiccup to dinner, and he politely obliged. Aside from Johan, Hiccup always had his dinners alone. It would be nice to have some larger company around him for a change. It almost reminded him of home.

The rice that had been brought back from the caravan that was attacked by wolves was dished out, and the men gathered in the barn they used as a mess hall. They invited Hiccup to sit down among them. A few men enthusiastically clapped the boy on the back and Hiccup thought he'd choke on his rice.

They all sat on the floor, eating, laughing, and boasting about how none of them had been scared of the wolves. Hiccup mostly sat back and watched, listening to their tales.

After a while, a large group of women crowded at the door, chattering and laughing loudly. Most of them were wearing loose, breathable kimonos and turbans to protect their hair from collecting ash. None of them were being shy at all about ogling the new stranger.

"Ruff's right! He _is_ handsome!" squealed a girl.

"Where is he?"

"Over in the back!"

"But he's so young!"

One girl, Ingrid, jeered, "That never stopped you before!"

The girls broke into peals of laughter.

"Hey! Quiet out there! We lost some good men today!" a man named Spitelout complained loudly to them.

"Yeah, there's lots of gorgeous men in here, honey!" another man, Gobber, catcalled, teasingly.

A large woman, Phlegma, huffed jokingly, "Ha! I've seen cattle that looked better!"

A few men chuckled as another girl, Kari, piped up, "Listen, stranger. Why don't you come over to our place? You don't want to stay in this stinking old barn."

Before Hiccup could reply, Spitelout, snapped, "Look, woman! We risked our lives to bring you the rice you're all eating tonight, so watch your mouth."

Another girl, Helgi, huffed, "And who made the iron that paid for that rice, huh? Tell me that."

A purple kimonoed girl named Hildegard barked, "Yeah, we're pumping those bellows while you pigs are in bed!"

"Actually," Hiccup spoke up, "if it isn't too much trouble, ladies, I would like to see where you work."

The girls gasped in excitement, breaking into smiles. "You would?"

"We'll have to work in makeup tonight!"

"Lend me your lipstick!" Helgi joked.

Then the girls started leaving.

"Don't be a stranger!"

"Don't forget now!"

"We'll be waiting for you!"

Soon they were gone, and the barn was left to just the men.

"It's best not to pay them any mind, you know," Spitelout huffed, "Lady Mala spoils them rotten. That's why they're like that."

Hiccup merely smiled. "Well, they say happy women make a happy village."

"Happy? Ha!" Hoark, laughed, "Those kind of women workin' here?"

"Women like that… It's a disgrace," said his brother, Ack. "They defile the iron. Lady Mala goes around buying the contract of every brothel girl she can find."

"Oh, don't be like that," chided Gobber, "Milady has a kind heart, that's all!"

"You got rice on your chin, old man," Spitelout grunted.

Gobber blinked and picked pieces out of his blonde mustache. Shrugging, he licked them off his fingers.

"Well, it's true! Everything here has turned upside-down since she showed up," said Hoark, waving his chopsticks.

"Perhaps. But you can't say you've seen another woman fiercer! She's not even afraid of the gods, that woman!" Gobber smiled proudly. He lumbered over and knelt down behind Hiccup's shoulder. "You should've seen the way she dealt with Nago. Am I right?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Who's Nago?"

The man bellowed out a laugh, his mouth full of rice, "'Who's Nago?' The gigantic boar god! He used to rule this whole forest! We couldn't even get near the mountains with him around. Nothing to do but sit around on our backsides for months, starin' at a bunch of angry boars."

Starkard nodded. "See, the iron in the sand under this town had all been dug out."

Gobber piped back in, "So then we tried to get at the iron under the mountain, but Nago wasn't going to stand for that."

Spitelout sighed heavily, "The problem was, before we could dig for the iron, we had to clear away the forest." He got a faraway look in his eyes and seemed to shudder from a bad memory. "And that's what made the boar angry."

The men in the back of the barn laughed as a friend of theirs danced drunkenly.

"Hundreds of boars charge us, led by Nago. We even shot him with flaming arrows, but he just shook them off like they were flies!"

The other man continued with story, still chewing on his rice, "Then one day, Lady Mala came along with her warriors and her rifles."

"Drove that blasted pig out of here and burned the trees! And he's never come back to bother us again!"

The pit of Hiccup's stomach dissolved. He wasn't hungry anymore. He set his bowl down and clenched at his arm. Although, this time, he wasn't sure if he was consciously doing it, or if the arm wanted to possess him.

"Young man, what's wrong?" Gobber asked.

Hiccup clenched his hand tighter around his aching wrist.

Seeing this, the man raised an eyebrow in concern. "Is something hurting your arm?" he asked, sympathetic to phantom pains.

Hiccup shook his head, a bitter taste in the back of his throat. "No, I was just thinking about the boar-god. I was thinking how he must've died filled with hate."


	7. Lady Mala's Secret

PM-chapter seven

Chapter seven – Lady Mala's Secret*

Later that night, Snotlout came to bring Hiccup to Lady Mala.

Hiccup stood silently in front of her as she finished checking off items on her to-do list.

Now that he had a closer look at her, he could see how beautiful she was. Her red kimono had patterns of yellow fans. It probably cost more than a year's wage for an ordinary worker. Her long blue overcoat settled gracefully on her shoulders. She had her face painted a very pale shade, and her hair tied back with a pink ribbon, the sides framing her face. Her bright red lips, thin eyebrows, and olive-green eyes stood out on her pale face.

While she was certainly attractive; indeed, she probably could have any man in town if she wanted to. However, Hiccup simply wasn't attracted to her. Her organized beauty paled in comparison to the more wild beauty of the wolf girl.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what he had felt for the girl he saw this morning. It wasn't love exactly… at least, not the kind he'd been told about. There was just something in her eyes he resonated with. He couldn't even think of a proper word for it… Kinship?

He shook his head, pushing away these thoughts. The best he could hope for was to see her again and ask for help in his quest. Right now, she seemed to be his best chance at finding this Great Forest Spirit…

Mala sat on a step in a private room, lightly tapping on a lump of iron Snotlout brought to her.

"Forgive me for keeping you waiting stranger," she said, handing back the piece of iron she deemed pure. "That's good iron. We were running behind with tomorrow's shipment." She turned to a girl and said with a wistful sigh, "Let's have a rest. You may tell the others."

The girl nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Mala continued to talk while signing her signature on certain accounts. "Some think you're either a spy for the Wolf Girl or for Lord Asano and his samurai."

Hiccup didn't reply.

Mala smirked. "There are a lot of people out there with their eyes on this iron. Why are you here, if you don't mind my asking?"

Hiccup silently reached inside his shirt and unfastened the tie holding up his sleeve. Ripping the sleeve down to his wrist in one fluid motion, he revealed his marked skin.

Snotlout's eyebrows raised in alarm while Mala's narrowed in suspicion.

"I believe you'll recognize this," Hiccup said, holding out the iron ball in his hand. "It shattered the bones of a giant boar, rotted his flesh and turned him into a monster."

Mala set down her brush. Snotlout moved defensively closer to her side, one hand on the hilt of his sword.

Hiccup continued, "I fought with him, and for that I was cursed with this mark on my arm, and soon it will kill me."

He slid his sleeve back into place as Mala narrowed her eyes further. "Where is it you come from? I've never seen a red elk like that before," she asked curiously.

Hiccup remained expressionless. "I have come a very long way. I can't tell you more than that."

Snotlout grew frustrated, gripping his sword's hilt harder. "Answer milady's question or I'll cut you in half!" he bellowed.

Both Mala and Hiccup ignored him. "What do you plan to do?" Mala asked. "What exactly are you here for?"

"To see with eyes unclouded by hate," Hiccup replied.

"'Eyes unclouded'?" she mockingly replied, then she burst out laughing. Once she composed herself, she smiled. "Well, that explains it." She stood up and motioned for the boy to follow. "Come. I'll show you all my secrets."

Snotlout looked rather stunned. "Is that wise, milady?"

She waved a passive hand at him. "Snotlout, take over for me."

Snotlout didn't like being ignored and he grunted in annoyance, but he respected her enough to not complain.

…

Mala led Hiccup through town, weaving between the many people still working long into the night. A lot of them were hammering pieces of iron, fashioning them into many different things: jewelry, pins, coins, etc.

Hiccup paused only once on their short journey, in front of a large door to the biggest building, in the center of the town. Inside the forge was a huge furnace that radiated almost stifling waves of heat. Men wearing masks and gloves to protect themselves were shoveling iron ore into the top, like a volcano. At the bottom of the furnace, white-hot liquid poured out into a flat pan. Men supervised the pan until it was filled to the top.

But at the side of the furnace, Hiccup spotted familiar looking faces.

The girls he'd promised to see earlier were holding onto ropes above their heads and pushing down a rocking floorboard at their feet. He realized this must be the bellows that had to constantly be pumped.

Hiccup watched them for a moment longer and then hurried to follow Mala. He could always visit them again later. Right now, he was curious to what this woman would show him.

…

Mala led him through another walled off section of the town and turned to him. "This is my garden. None of the townspeople dare to come here. Follow me if you wish to learn my secret."

Hiccup eyed the quiet garden for a moment, wondering what she could be hiding here, yet it looked like a typical garden to him. But the garden wasn't what she wanted to show him, apparently.

She led him into a small building, bowing once to the guard sitting outside the door. "Good evening, she greeted him.

Hiccup bowed his head too in acknowledgement to the guard wearing many bandages.

When Hiccup lifted the grass matt door, he paused in the entryway.

All the people in there were wearing rolls and rolls of white bandages. They were all chattering happily, working in a small room, each committed to a task despite some of them missing limbs and other appendages.

"We've only just finished it, milady," said a woman, handing Mala a long weapon with a wooden shoulder mount and a long metal tube.

Mala contemplatively frowned. "It's still too heavy."

"Perhaps if you didn't hold it so delicately?" she remarked.

A man piped up, jokingly, "Milady, if we make them any lighter, they'll fall apart."

Mala fingered the trigger, testing the aiming. "I trust you to figure it out," she said kindly. "They're not for me. They're for the other women here."

The other woman chuckled, "That'll be something to see."

Hiccup realized what it was before Mala turned and explained it to him. "This is the latest rifle that I've asked these people to design. The ones we brought here have turned out to be too heavy. These will kill forest monsters _and_ pierce the thickest samurai armor."

One of the men turned to Hiccup and chuckled, "You better watch out, young man. Lady Mala wants to rule the world."

Mala turned to her workers with a pained smile. "I'm sorry to have to push you all so hard. I'll have wine sent down later."

"Oh, that'll be nice!" they all chuckled.

Hiccup's frown grew deeper and deeper the more she talked. "First you steal the boar's forest from him and then transform him into a demon. Now you're making even deadlier weapons! How much more hatred and pain do you think we need?!" his voice grew into a shout.

Mala looked at him with a hint of sorrow in her eyes. "Yes, I'm the one that shot the boar, and I'm sorry that you suffer. I truly am," she said sincerely. She gave a tired sigh, "That brainless pig. I'm the one he should have put a curse on, not you."

Still, Hiccup's anger wasn't satisfied.

Suddenly, his arm burned and writhed. Alarmed, Hiccup watched as his hand wildly went to grab the hilt of his sword. Reacting quickly, he grabbed his wrist and struggled to stop his arm from taking it out of its sheath.

The other lepers cried out in fear and cowered away from him. Hiccup kept his eyes steely on Mala. The woman didn't flinch. She narrowed her eyes in return.

"Does that right hand of yours wish to kill me now, Hiccup?" she asked, giving a hint of a smirk on her lips.

For an irrational moment, Hiccup wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off her face.

But Hiccup fought to still his hand, managing to pull it away from his sword, yet still growled, "If it would lift the curse, I'd let it tear you apart. But even that won't end the killing now, would it?"

Her smirk widened slightly. "No, it wouldn't. It would have to kill all of us to be at peace."

A man in the corner of the room just then spoke up, "Milady, Osa has something to say."

A bandaged body, laying underneath a grass blanket weakly shifted and an old man's voice croaked out, "Forgive me, milady. You must not make light of the boy's strength."

The old man shifted and peered at Hiccup through the thin bandages over his eyes. "Young man, like you, I know what rage feels like, and grief and helplessness. But…" he paused to wheeze and catch his breath. "You must not take your revenge on Lady Mala. She is the only one who saw us as human beings. We are lepers. The world hates and fears us, but she… she took us in and washed our rotting flesh and bandaged us."

He stopped to cough, and Hiccup remained silent.

"Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed, but still you find reasons to keep living," he croaked, wet spots seeping through the bandages at the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry… I'm making no sense."

…

Outside, a full moon hung high in the night sky, casting the mountains in dark silhouettes.

Standing high over the wooden wall, Mala shouldered the new rifle and fired a round toward the mountain. Hiccup followed the red ball of light in its arch through the air until it landed on the dark mountainside with a flash. In that flash, Hiccup swore he saw shadows of some sort, with glowing eyes.

Mala grumbled, resetting her gun, "Oh, they just keep coming back. Every night they're out there planting trees, trying to turn the mountain into a forest again."

Hiccup pursed his lips but remained quiet. He wasn't going to let his arm take hold of his anger again.

Then Mala turned to him with an offer, "Stay here. Help me kill the Forest Spirit, Hiccup."

"You would do that? Kill the very heart of the forest?" Hiccup asked, flabbergasted.

"Without that ancient god, the animals here would be nothing but dumb beasts once more. When the forest has been cleared and the wolves wiped out, this desolate place will be the richest land in the world…"

_There_ was the hunger in her eyes. The pride. The glory. It was clear she was proud if this dream of hers. He could tell she was dedicated to this, no matter what anyone would say.

"… And Princess Mononoke will become human."

Hiccup blinked, pulled from his train of thoughts. "Princess Mononoke?"

Mala turned to him and nodded. "The princess of the spirits of ghouls, beasts, and ancient gods. The wolves stole her soul, and now she lives to kill me."

Hiccup momentarily flashed back to the vision of the girl standing on the opposite side of the river, but he kept his face impassive.

Mala reset the trigger of the rifle, casually carrying on, "The legends say the blood of the Great Forest Spirit can heal anything. Perhaps it could cure my poor lepers… Maybe even be able to lift your curse, Hiccup."

Hiccup looked out onto the forest once more, frowning.

It sounded almost too good to be true.

"Milady!" the bandaged man's voice called up to her. "How does the action feel to you? Better?"

Mala smiled back. "Smooth as silk, the perfect thing for ruling the world. But still too heavy for the girls."

Hiccup turned and walked away as the man laughed. He'd seen enough. He didn't want to hear any more.


	8. Working the Bellows

PM-chapter eight

**I wanted to share some notes for a while, but wasn't sure when, so let's just call this during the film's "Intermission." I'll try to keep this short. **

**Writing a story as grand and epic as this has been fun and interesting for me, but it's also a challenge. I always enjoy whatever I write, but this was the first Ghibli movie I'd be writing for. I wanted this to be special. **

**The writing style for this story was done differently because of my intentions to be unique to the original movie's tone. Just as I do in all my works, I put a lot of thought into **_**what**_** I write, and **_**how**_** I write. **

**So I experiment and try a writing style that's faithful to the film's aesthetic and tone. One of the many awesome themes in Princess Mononoke (besides war, environmentalism, etc.) is about consequences. Every character makes certain choices that ultimately affect others' lives. Miyazaki warns how we need to be careful about the consequences we cause, and to also take responsibility for the consequences we make, whether we intended them or not.**

**We must strive to be like Ashitaka and "see with eyes unclouded by hate." **

**I definitely think we could all use that mantra in today's society, and not let our hatred spread and take over the beauty in our world. **

**Thus, a lot of my wording circle around a character's actions, and not as much on their deep internal dialogue. **

**So I apologize if this story doesn't feel as fleshed out as "Beauty and the Beast – Hiccstrid" did, but I'm still experimenting with my writing style to best fit the story. **

**Plus, if you know me by now, you know that my creative process is both a blessing and a curse. I really like things to be perfect and exactly as how I envisioned the final product to be before I get the courage to post. I'm trying to challenge that mentality here on this account. I release my work under the assumption of "Edits pending" because I'm allowing myself to come back and make better changes in the future. Once I've started a project, I feel I have to finish it, but at least I'm giving myself extended time. Or else none of my stuff would ever get posted. Lol ;D **

**So yeah. That's that. Anyway, hope you still like the story anyway. If not, whatever. Check out my other stuff. **

…

Chapter eight – Working the Bellows*

Hiccup had to walk away to cool his head. He was rather agitated and ready to leave. He considered getting Toothless right away and saying final goodbyes when he stalked past the forge again and saw the furnace. He could hear the women singing.

He saw the girls and remembered his promise.

Hiccup sighed and let the earlier events of the night roll off his back. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the huge open doors.

One of the girls woke up from her nap in the corner and brightened as she saw him. "Well, look who's here!" waking up most of her friends.

Peeling off his shirt, Hiccup was careful to still keep his arms covered with his sleeves. But otherwise, he was shirtless. He smiled at the welcoming girls. "Evening. All right if I work the bellows for a while?" he asked.

She stammered a bit in surprise. "Well, I-I guess so…"

Hiccup calmly approached the last girl in the line and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me. May I try it?"

She looked at him in astonishment and blushed. "Uh…"

Ruffnut popped in, smiling. "It's okay. Might as well let him try."

As Hiccup took her place, he pushed his foot down on the bellows in time with the other girls. Testing himself a little, he focused on channeling just the slightest bit of the demon's strength in the power of his push.

Almost immediately, his strength doubled that of a normal man and the floor boards pumped even higher than what all the girls could do together. But many of the girls didn't care. They were laughing and riding on it and having fun.

"When you get tired, I'll take over for you," said one girl.

Ruffnut huffed, "Well, that won't be long."

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup spotted the girl next to him blushing as she had to readjust her kimono because it was coming loose, pumping the bellows. Hiccup politely averted his eyes, but none of the girls seemed to mind.

"Oops! Better keep that kimono shut tight, girl!" Helgi joked, making the other girls laugh.

Ruffnut leaned against a nearby post, smirking. "I'm impressed, but you'll never be able to keep that pace up," she chided.

"It's hard work, isn't it?" Hiccup said.

"You bet," she replied. "And our work shifts are four days long."

"You must lead hard lives here," Hiccup said.

Ruffnut shrugged and turned to the girls. "Yeah, I suppose. But it sure beats working a brothel in the city, huh?"

The other girls nodded in agreement. "Here we get to eat as much as we want, and the men don't bother us!"

Phlegma jokingly chimed in, "Unless we want 'em too!"

The girls all laughed, and Hiccup felt a little warmed by their cheery company.


	9. The Wolf Princess

Chapter nine – The Wolf Princess*

Outside Iron Town, on the desolate mountainside, a pair of white wolves prowled in the night. Only the soft squeaking of mice could be heard as they scurried out of their way.

In the darkness, only the glowing of animal eyes could really be seen. But the girl riding on her brother wolf's back was used to the dark. She wasn't afraid of anything. Well, almost anything.

She was here to save her forest. Her home.

She whole-heartedly knew this was her purpose in life. After all, it's what gods and spirits did; protect their home. But now their home was under threat. The plan? Drive the humans out and the forest could be restored once more. And she would fulfil her purpose… By any means necessary.

She petted her other brother's snout and gave a reassuring smile to him. She could tell he was slightly worried about this most recent plan of hers. It was more reckless than their previous attempts, but if it worked…

Well, it would be worth it.

So, the girl fitted her warrior's mask over her face and brushed her fur over her shoulder. She was ready.

…

"What? No!" the girls whined, standing outside the forge. They were disappointed to hear Hiccup telling them he was planning to leave the next day.

"But you can't leave tomorrow!"

"Can't you stay a little longer?"

"You can stay and work here."

Hiccup smiled at the gesture. "Thank you all, but there's someone I have to find out there in the forest –"

Suddenly, a tingle seemed to crawl up his spine and he froze. He couldn't tell if it was his own instincts or perhaps his arm's, but he was certain.

He looked out into the distance with a knowing glare. "She's here…"

The other girls were confused at his response, but sure enough, not a moment later, there was suddenly a loud, resounding clanging, echoing from a watchtower at the northwestern side of the wall.

"The wolves are coming! It's the Wolf Princess!" a man called out into the night. "She's here!"

…

The wolves dodged gunfire and ran down the hillside, ramping upward toward the island. The girl stood up on her brother's back, raising her spear over her shoulder. At the last moment, her brother wolf launched her into the air.

Just for a moment, she enjoyed a feeling of weightlessness, the wind billowing through her fur…

Then she stabbed her spear into the side of the wooden wall – a wall made up of the same trees that the humans had cut down – and climbed her way over the top.

She'd succeeded. She was inside the human town.

But she didn't get much of a chance to look around. She came face to face with a guard. The man was shaken, and hesitated in his shock, but he narrowed his eyes and yelled with rage as he swung his rifle at her like a staff.

The girl jumped from perch to perch, dodging him easily. With a single slice of her dagger, she cut the wooden shaft of his rifle in half and the man lost his balance. He cried out as he fell over backward, falling off the wall.

The girl didn't stay there for too long however. She ran along the wall, dodging more and more gunfire aimed at her. Then she jumped onto a rooftop and made her way further inside the town.

Her target was somewhere further inside this fortress.

…

Hiccup heard the commotion and ran closer to the noise. All of a sudden, there was an explosion on the roof of the building next to him and a shape jumped down from above.

He almost didn't recognize her with the mask on, but as she slashed at him with her dagger, Hiccup recognized the ferocity in her attacks.

"Stop! Wait!" Hiccup cried out, blocking her slashes with his own sword. "I don't want to fight you. I'm a friend!"

Black holes for eyes stared back at him through her mask. Just for a second, she seemed to back off. Then a man came running behind Hiccup, swinging a torch at her. More to avoid the men that had come to the boy's aid, she left Hiccup alone and leapt onto a nearby roof with amazing agility. Wherever she was going, she was intent on not letting any human get in her way.

"She's on the roof!" a man yelled.

"She's after Lady Mala!"

The men hurried to run after her and join the fight.

"Somebody cut her off!"

"She's headed for the forge!"

Hearing this, Hiccup climbed up a nearby ladder and was determined to follow her along the rooftops. He could see her white fur in the distance. She was indeed heading for the forge.

…

The weaponry doors had been opened for this emergency and everyone nearby was grabbing an extra spear and running back outside. Snotlout was at the door, barking orders.

"Keep stoking those fires! Riflemen to the stockade! We got her right where we want her!"

Inside, men helped pass around the spears. "A weapon for every man! Everyone defends Iron Town!"

…

Inside the forge, a woman with a spear ran to Ruffnut, exclaiming, "Ruff, she's on the roof!"

The girls working gasped in unison, looking worried.

Ruffnut called for calm. "Now, don't get excited. Keep those bellows working. Whatever happens, we can't let those fires go out!"

…

Lady Mala stepped outside her house, casually covering her shoulders with a light jacket. "Is she alone?" she asked.

Snotlout smirked. "Yes. She can't escape. We have her cornered," he said. On another note, he added, a little concerned, "You know she means to kill you this time."

But this didn't seem to faze her. "We'll see about that." She turned and looked over her shoulder, "Come on."

As she walked to the center of the square, two women followed her, both carrying heavy rifles. Snotlout looked surprised as they followed her into the square. "Make room for milday!" he ordered.

Mala stopped in the middle of the square, torches lighting everything in the square. One woman stopped on her left and the other on her right. Mala looked up at the forge, projecting her voice, "Can you hear me, Princess of beasts? If it's me you want, here I am."

Hiccup paused in his chase to glance at the scene unfolding below him.

She continued, "If you seek revenge for all the animals we've killed, well, there are two women here whom I'd like you to meet. They want revenge as well, for husbands killed by your wolves."

One of the women beside her yelled out in a pained and vengeful voice, "Come on out, you little witch! My husband is dead because of you!"

No one really expected anything to happen, not even Hiccup. Because it would be foolish to.

But every single person gasped. All eyes looking up.

There she was, standing high above them, from her hiding place behind the steam of the forge.

Down in the square, people started moving in a flurry.

"Out of the way!" Snotlout ordered. "Riflemen, get ready to fire!"

From his vantage point, Hiccup saw groups of riflemen training their guns on her.

_It's a trap!_ He thought with alarm.

Quickly standing up, Hiccup raised his voice and shouted, "No! Wait! Princess of the wolf gods! Don't go down there! Go back to the forest!"

She didn't move a muscle, her masked face impassive. Only the wind continued to billow her fur.

"Listen to me, please! Don't throw your life away!" Hiccup continued to shout.

Down below, Snotlout put a hand on his sword hilt. "Should I stop him, milady?" he asked.

Mala remained calm and composed. "Let him do as he likes."

He wanted to protest, but he was soon silenced, along with everyone else. For there was a long wolf howl in the distance. All eyes were on the girl, wondering what she would do. The howl drew out into silence, and then…

The girl raised her dagger and started running down the roof, straight to the woman in the square.

Hiccup's heart lurched in his throat. "No! Stop!" he yelled as he sprinted to cut her off.

He was a few feet from intercepting her, but there was suddenly a big explosion at his feet, splinters scattering everywhere. Hiccup was able to dodge the riflemen's aim, but the girl wasn't quite as lucky. She had dodged the first barrage, but not the second. The explosion sent her in a tumble down the roof.

"She's down! We got her! Snotlout laughed, and stared charging forward.

"Stay back," Mala calmly ordered. Snotlout turned around to her with a puzzled look on his face as she replied, "Cut off a wolf's head and it still has the power to bite." Snotlout reluctantly moved out of the way. "Take aim where she falls," Mala instructed the two women coolly.

"Right," they nodded, shouldering their rifles.

…

As Hiccup watched her tumble down, he knew he had to first stop the townspeople from rushing in and killing her. He crouched down next to one of the beams that made up the roof. He closed his eyes and focused his power in his grip. He slowly managed to bend it… and then with an explosive crack, it came free.

…

The ringing in her ears was terrible. The world felt like slightly disorienting. She'd been shot at with those damn cannon things before, but never _this_ close. And she had always ridden into battle on her brother's back. She was fast, but not as fast as her brothers. This time, she couldn't clear the explosion in time.

…

By the time Hiccup turned around, the wolf girl had rolled off the roof and fallen to the ground. She landed on her hands and knees like a cat, but she struggled to stand up properly.

She didn't voice a single word of complaint or pain, but she seemed to have lost a bit of her balance, her orientation.

"Open fire!" Mala ordered.

Faster than a blink of an eye, one iron ball flew past her shoulder, but the other one hit her in the forehead, shattering the clay mask from her face.

The girl fell backward and lay unconscious on the ground, completely defenseless.

Everyone was taken aback.

Then voices started to rise. Snotlout cheered and a small crowd of excited people rushed toward her, but Hiccup heaved the beam over his shoulder.

"Stay back!" he yelled, throwing the heavy beam in the air.

The heavy piece of wood landed with a crash and hit a lamp right in front of the crowd rushing forward. The lamp broke apart and bits of fire scattered. People cried out in alarm. Snotlout skidded to a halt, frantically patting down his front to smother any embers. "What the devil was that?!"

While they were distracted, Hiccup jumped off the roof and knelt beside her, hovering over the girl's body.

"Come on, wake up," he begged, shaking her shoulders.

For a moment, she was motionless.

But then her eyes suddenly snapped open and she grabbed her dagger, slicing at his cheek. She would've slashed across his eyes if he hadn't dodged quickly enough.

She continued slashing at him, forcing him to back away. The boy almost fell down, but she didn't strike him. Instead, she ran past him, charging toward the people.

"No!" Hiccup yelled, but she was gone before he could stop her.

Once more composing himself, Snotlout drew his long sword and waited for the girl to rush at him. He swung the long blade, but he blinked in surprise, not understanding how he could've missed.

He looked up, but only in time to see the wild girl smirk as her foot connected with his face.

As agile as a deer, she leapt into the air and vaulted over the small crowd. The people gasped as she sailed overhead. But she wasn't done.

Without missing a beat, she landed on the ground in a crouch and propelled herself, sprinting without hesitation straight toward her target.

With a battle cry, she charged at Mala, as the two widows ran away. But Mala stood there, unmoving. The woman purposefully tossed her robe aside. There was a smirk on her red lips. She had no intention of moving for _this child_.

Just as the wolf girl closed on her, Mala suddenly lifted her cane, revealing a long, thin sword. In one fluid motion, she used the blade to block the oncoming dagger, the two metals clashing.

Just for one split-second, the two ferally glared at each other, hate filling their eyes.

Then Mala reached behind her and withdrew a poniard, a thin needle like knife, and swiped it at the girl.

Sensing the attack coming, the girl jumped backward in time, just as a few white hairs were slashed off from her battle dress.

The girl lunged at the woman with the fierceness of a rabid dog, thrusting her dagger. But Lady Mala kept blocked the girl's dagger with her sword and slashed back with a sharp pin in her other hand. The woman always stood tall, calm and collected in comparison to the wild girl, crouching low to the ground, snarling with her teeth.

The rest of the citizens were surrounding them in a large huddle, all shouting encouragement for Mala and shouting jeers at the girl. Their multitude of sharp spears forming a wide inescapable circle around the two.

For a moment, Hiccup just looked on in amazement, feeling sorely taken out of the picture, like he was watching from afar. Almost like things were taken out of his hands.

On the outside, the scene didn't look all that different from a dirty dog fight. People were waving their weapons and shouting, "Skin her, Milady! Kill her!"

Hiccup picked himself off the ground and stood ridged.

No. It wasn't outside of his hands.

He clenched his fists and scowled. He was more than just angry. He was frustrated, disappointed, and maybe a little insulted.

This was pathetic. He expected more from these people.

About twenty feet from him, Snotlout was crouched on the ground, his long sword stabbing the dirt, rubbing his head. Two men were at his side, trying to help him.

"Are you alright, sir?" one asked.

Snotlout, frustrated and irritated at his defeat, snapped at them, "Get away from me! I'm fine!"

"Yes, sir!" they whimpered, and ran off.

Then Snotlout looked over at Hiccup. His pale blue eyes widened.

A breeze ruffled Hiccup's auburn hair, and ominous energy seemed to grow around him. Ghostly purple worms pulsed with energy, enveloping his right arm. The boy withdrew his sword and started calmly walking toward the fight.

Snotlout took this as a challenge.

"Traitor! You're a spy for the wolves, aren't you?!" he accused, drawing his long sword and pointing it at his chest.

Hiccup kept walking at the same pace. Snotlout's eyes grew bigger when the boy pinched the tip of his sword between his fingers without fear. With ease, Hiccup bent the sword until it was almost a curly-q in Snotlout's hands.

"Step aside," he said coolly.

As Hiccup walked past him, Snotlout stared at his ruined sword and started babbling incoherently, shaking like a leaf.

…

Back at the fight, still cheering and shouting, the townspeople did not at first notice that people in the back ranks started flying. People looked on in astonishment as he shoved his way through the crowd. The cheering stopped as people looked on in shock as Hiccup broke through the ranks of spectators and shoved everyone in his way aside.

But Hiccup didn't care. He made his way to the center of the fight.

Mala and the wolf girl were so absorbed in their fight that they never noticed Hiccup walking toward them at his same, regular pace. As both Mala and the wolf girl attacked each other, Hiccup stepped in between them, blocking them, mid-blow. His right hand held the arm of the wolf girl and her knife, and his sword pushed back against Mala's blade. The wolf girl struggled desperately, using her free hand to claw at his fingers, but to no avail, for his demon arm was much stronger than her.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" Mala spat down at him.

"Stay your blade," Hiccup said firmly, "The girl's life is now mine."

As he spoke, the girl gnashed her teeth and bit down on his arm, shaking it with her head like a dog, growling. But Hiccup didn't feel any pain.

"I'm sure she'll make a lovely wife for you," Mala jeered, still pushing down on her blade.

Hiccup didn't let her comment slip him up. He narrowed his eyes, his voice gaining an edge. "There's a demon inside you, both of you."

Just then, the ghostly shadows of the purple worms reappeared, wriggling around his arm. The wolf girl stopped and gasped, immediately letting go of his arm. Everyone else gasped as well.

Quite the contrary to her earlier intent on ripping his arm off, the girl's eyes went wide, and she seemed to understand the danger of it. She struggled to get out of his grip, away from the demon curse. She looked almost as scared as a child.

"Look everyone!" Hiccup shouted, addressing the crowd. "This is what hatred looks like! This is what it does when it catches hold of you! It's eating me alive and soon now it will kill me! Fear and anger only make it grow stronger!"

"I'm getting a little tired of this curse of yours, Hiccup," Mala said, quickly slashing down with her pin. "Let me just cut the damn thing _off!_"

She swung her poniard at Hiccup's face. He leaned back to dodge and swiftly hit her in the gut with the hilt of his sword, knocking her unconscious.

The crowd gasped.

Seeing her chance, the wolf girl struggled even more. Knowing she'd never leave without a fight, Hiccup quickly drew her in and did the same to her.

"Lady Mala!" cried one of the widows.

Hiccup stood up, with both Mala and the girl over each of his shoulders. The ghostly worms finally faded away and vanished.

"Someone come here, and take her from me," he said.

After a moment, one of the former brothel girls dropped her weapon. "Milady!" she cried, running over. About ten other girls followed her.

"Don't worry, she's just stunned. She'll be alright," Hiccup said with a nod to the women taking her.

Sheathing his sword, Hiccup now lifted the frame of the girl over his shoulder. "As for me, I'm leaving, and I'm taking the wolf girl!" he called out to the crowd.

At that, there was a commotion in the crowd.

"Oh no, you're not! No one treats my Lady Mala like that!" one of the avenging women shouted at him, raising her rifle on her shoulder.

Hiccup looked at her standing there, practically shaking with the weapon in her hand. The onlookers were silent as they anxiously looked back and forth between them. She seemed put off by the boy's calmness, but she yelled again, louder, "Move and I fire!"

Hiccup looked at her for a moment, wondering if she really would.

_Honestly it didn't matter,_ he reminded himself. He was going to die soon anyway. This woman had just as much right as anyone to be the one to take his life. Maybe her quickly ending him would be a kindness.

So Hiccup just turned and started walking.

He made it a few steps when he heard behind him–

"Kiyo, what are you doing?!"

And a scream of alarm from the widow as she jerked and accidentally pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Hiccup didn't need to look down to know that she _did_ shoot him, right through the side of his chest. Blood already seeped into his shirt. He faltered on his feet for a moment but chose to keep walking.

At the very least, he could do one more task and bring the girl on his back home safely.

The other villagers were in complete awe. Kiyo and other people behind her had fallen from the recoil. They all stared in disbelief.

"H-How can he still be walking?"

…

Hiccup, seemingly unaffected by the bullet, walked past a recovering Snotlout who was still holding his broken sword. Breaking his temporary paralysis, he ran to the group of villagers.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

"Yes, Milady is safe, sir."

Snotlout grew red in the face, clenched his fist, and started barking orders. "Someone bring me my gun! Riflemen to the square now, on the double! They're not getting out of here alive!"

He never liked this stranger, and now he'd embarrassed him royally. Snotlout Jorgensen would not be embarrassed again!

…

As Hiccup continued his trek to the gate, Toothless managed to get out of his stall and follow him. Some of the forge girls noticed him walking by. "Ruff, come here!"

As Ruffnut stepped outside, she noticed Hiccup carrying the wolf girl on his back and the red that continued to spread down his shirt and his pant leg.

"W-What happened?" she asked, but she got no reply from him.

He smiled thinly at Ruffnut as he walked past.

She stared at him in shock, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping at the trail of blood he left behind him. The blood glistened in the firelight of the torches.

…

Hiccup walked on and finally came before the giant gate. All the citizens of Iron Town stood stunned by the sudden events. They all just stared, too stunned to interfere. They half expected him to just drop dead at any moment, but he miraculously kept walking.

It was Gobber that attempted to stop Hiccup. "The gates have been orders shut. They can't be opened!" he said, holding up his hand.

Ignoring him, Hiccup walked up past him and came to a stop before two guards crossing their spears, blocking him.

"Turn back, please," one of the riflemen implored. "We're grateful to you for bringing those men back to us. We don't want to hurt you."

But Hiccup wasn't going to budge. "I walked through this gate this morning, now I will leave the same way," he stated, putting his hand up against the wood.

"Don't be ridiculous," one guard scolded. "It takes ten men to lift this gate!"

Hiccup ignored them and kept pushing. His blood was flowing out of at a copious rate. So much blood pooled at his feet that he began to slip. One of the villagers looked on in horror and shouted, "Stop it! You'll kill yourself!"

Hiccup only pushed harder. He sweated, and bled, and his arm burned, but he kept pushing.

To everyone's surprise (including Hiccup's to be honest) the gate moved a bit. With a creak and a groan, the wooden gate started to rise. The villagers gasped.

Snotlout and his riflemen dashed through the streets and headed to the gate. As the entrance was lifted, two white wolves came running, heading straight for the village just inside. The people closest gasped and cried out in fear.

"The wolves are attacking!" Snotlout yelled. In his over eagerness, he swung his rifle around in a move that knocked all of his troops to the ground. Then he noticed he was missing something, fretfully patting his pockets. "Flint! Flint!"

Hiccup stood tall and called out to the wolves, "It's alright! Your princess is safe with me!"

To everyone's surprise, the wolves skidded to a quick stop, halting just before the gate, as though reacting to his words, realizing their sister's life was at stake. They snarled threateningly, narrowing her eyes on the strange boy holding the gate up with one arm raised above his head.

"Stay and I will bring her," he called.

Hiccup looked over his shoulder for his friend. "Come on, Toothless."

The red elk lowered his head and walked under the gate, staying close to the boy.

Then Hiccup turned to the people one last time and smiled. "You have my thanks." And he let the gate drop behind him with a loud boom.

The towns people simply looked at the closed gate in awe.

Gobber muttered, "Good luck, stranger…"


	10. Mercy

Chapter ten – Mercy*

Astrid slowly opened her eyes, feeling groggy. She was wakened by her whole body jostling in a rhythm. When her vision cleared, she realized she wasn't in the village anymore. The landscape was dark. She didn't know where she was, she didn't understand why she was riding on this strange elk, and she certainly didn't know why a man was holding her in his arms.

She panicked when she smelled blood. A lot of it.

But the moment she resisted his hold on her, the boy didn't fight back. He limply fell backward, sliding off the elk's side and tumbling hard over the rocky ground. He landed face-first in the dirt without the least bit of resistance. It was then she recognized him as the same strange boy from the river earlier, and the same one that yelled at her on the roof.

Her wolf brothers, who'd been following close behind, immediately pounced on him, one grabbing his head in his jaws and shaking aggressively.

Astrid yelled to them from the bucking elk, "Stop it! Leave him! He's mine!"

She hopped off the animal and slightly winced, grabbing her stomach. He'd hit her pretty good.

She slightly limped over to the body, shaking off her pain. Her brothers stepped away from the body as she approached.

Astrid narrowed her eyes down at him as she absentmindedly stroked her brother's head. "His own people shot him… He's dying…"

That was… strange.

Sure, she understood that social justice was important for the humans, but she also knew how close the people in that town were to each other. She'd never seen someone get thrown outside the gate and left behind.

Just then, the boy scrunched his face in a grimace, too weak to even move his body.

She knelt down beside him, scowling. "Why did you stop me from killing her? Tell me while you're still alive!" she huffed in annoyance.

Still with his eyes closed, Hiccup weakly replied, "I… didn't want them… to kill you…"

"I'm not afraid to die. I'd do _anything_ to get you humans out of my forest!" she snapped.

Oh. There it was.

Now Hiccup knew why he resonated with her. She was desperate; suppressing a very genuine fear. She felt no way out of her situation. Her back was pushed against the wall, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

After a couple breathes, he answered, "I-I knew that… from the first… moment… I saw you…"

Her eyes flashed as irrational anger sprang up inside her. Where did he get the gall to think he knew anything about her?! How dare he!

"And I'm not afraid of _you!_ I should _kill_ you for saving her!" she shouted as she forcibly rolled him over.

She ripped his own sword out of its sheath and raised it over her head. Her arms came down and stopped with the tip of the shiny blade pointed over his throat. His limbs fell heavy on the ground. He was too weak to fight back. He still wouldn't open his eyes. The cords in his neck bobbed as he panted weakly, facing the sky.

"That woman is evil, and there's no one who can stop me from killing her," she said in a low, cold voice.

Hiccup knew she would slice his throat without a second thought, although it didn't seem like much of a threat when he knew he was dying anyway. He was getting colder by the minute, his mind growing foggier, but he still tried to convey his message anyway.

"No… _Live_…"

"That's enough!" she snapped, "I'm not listening to you anymore!"

Despite what little energy he had left, he tried opening his eyes and was met with her fierce face hovering over him. He gazed up at her. Her ethereal blue eyes shined like the stars.

"Your beautiful…" he murmured.

Astrid blinked in surprise, then she jumped back in alarm. Her heart suddenly beating fast.

She opened her mouth to snap something harsh back at him, but the words wouldn't come.

That had never happened before, either.

But it didn't matter. His eyes had closed. The boy had drifted off to unconsciousness.

Her wolf brother stepped beside her. "What is it, Astrid?" he asked. "Shall I crunch his face off?"

Before the girl could ponder what to do next, a small rock landed on the ground beside them. It was followed by another and another.

Astrid and her brothers turned their gaze and saw a large group of shadows gathering on some boulders a short distance away on the mountain side. Their red eyes seemed to glow in the night.

The Ape Tribe.

Strictly speaking, the Wolf Tribe didn't have many enemies with other animals in the forest. Moro and her cubs were known for being honorable and fair, and helped maintain the balance of the forest. And although their pack's numbers had grown very small, the animals still respected them and knew better than to cross them.

Except for the Ape Tribe. On the whole, they were a peaceful clan. They helped care for the forest's trees and generally avoided conflict. But the destruction the humans brought to their labor of love had started discontentment among the apes. Sometimes, it brought out old resentments between the wolves and the apes.

Astrid's brothers growled at her side as she raised her voice, "All right! What do you want here?"

Her other brother snarled, "Apes, how dare you show such disrespect to the wolf clan."

One of the apes stood up and spoke in a deep voice, "This is our forest."

A second shifted on the boulder. "The human, give him to us."

"Give us the human and go," a third said, tossing another rock at them.

"You go before my fangs find you," the wolf warned.

They continued tossing stones and twigs at them, mostly speaking in one voice, "We will not go."

"We will eat the human."

"Yes, let us eat the man creature."

At this, Astrid gawked. "Are you crazy? Just what happened to make the Ape Tribe change this way? Since when do apes eat the flesh of a man?"

They answered as one, "If we eat the human, we will steal his strength, and we will drive the other humans away. Give us the man creature."

Astrid shook her head, dismayed. "Stop this! You know you can't possess the humans' strength by eating them. All that'll do is make you into something else, something even _worse_ than human!"

They replied, tiredly, "We plant trees. Humans tear them up. The forest does not come back. If we kill the humans, we will save the forest."

She stepped forward and beseeched them, knowing their pain. "You mustn't give up. We'll find a way! The Forest Spirit is with us. Go on planting your trees and someday we'll beat them!"

One of them drew up on his knuckles, angrier than before. "The Forest Spirit will not fight. We will all die. Wolf girl does not care. She is human."

For an instant, Astrid flinched, not knowing what to say.

Her brothers snarled in her defense, "Enough! I'll bite your head off, you chattering ape!"

As the wolves gave chase, the apes panicked and ran away, dispersing into the night.

"Stop! Wait! Come back! Leave them alone!" Astrid called after her eager brothers.

As they disappeared, she frowned at the ground and took a moment to breathe. She sighed tiredly as her brothers came back. "Don't worry about them. It's fine," she said, "You two go on ahead now. I'll stay here and deal with the human."

"What about the elk?" her brother asked, pointing his nose to the red elk that had stayed hidden behind another boulder, watching them anxiously.

"Yeah," the other chimed in, "Can we eat him?" he asked, panting with anticipation.

Astrid smiled a little. "No, you may not. Now go on home," she ordered.

He groaned a little in disappointment, but Astrid knew he wouldn't mind too much. They still had some leftover oxen meat anyway from earlier that morning at the river.

When her brothers' white pelts disappeared in the distance, she turned and looked at the lonesome elk still standing there behind the boulder.

"Come over here," she said gently, relaxing her posture.

When he didn't move, she spoke again, "Don't worry, I'm a friend."

She lowered the boy's sword she still had in her hands, giving a friendly smile. "Don't be shy. I won't hurt you. I need you to help me carry him."

At this, the elk's ears twitched, and he pawed at the ground with his hoof.

"Please?" she added, for good measure.

She waited patiently as the elk slowly approached her, warily sniffing her. She paid him no mind as she crouched down and sheathed the sword back in its scabbard. With a grunt, she lifted one of the boy's arms over her shoulder and carried his full weight against her. She didn't care about the blood getting on her clothes.

A tiny moan escaped his lips as his head rolled onto her shoulder, his cheek brushing her fur cape. His breath was warm on her neck and sent a little chill down her spine.

She only knew one place that could possibly help him.

…

**Finally! Sorry it took so long! My new job generally tires me out at the end of the day, so uploading chapters will be less consistent in the future. But I still hope you stick around for more! **


	11. The Nightwalker

Chapter eleven – The Night-walker*

**Not a super big one, but more is still coming. Thank you for being patient. **

Insects chirped in the night. Dragonflies flew in lazy circles.

More and more curious kodama watched the strange pair as they lightly stepped their way through the forest.

Toothless carried Hiccup on his back but refused to let the girl touch him or his reins. Letting the matter drop, she led the way down a path her family kept well hidden from the humans.

Despite the low light, Astrid knew exactly where she was going. She was also used to the kodama watching her. She tended to ignore them by now.

Soon enough, they came upon a marsh, the same marsh from earlier. She held up her hand for the elk to wait. Toothless stopped at the water's edge as Astrid casually looked around.

Spotting what she was looking for, she crouched next to a rock and pulled out Hiccup's sword again. Only this time, she was careful to make a small incision, cutting off the stem of a young tree sapling.

As she walked away, a couple nearby kodama tilted their heads in confusion at the missing sapling. One gave the stump a comforting pat.

Astrid went first into the water to show Toothless it was safe. After some hesitation, the elk gingerly stepped his hooves into the water, following her.

Astrid clamped the sapling in her mouth as she approached and gently pulled Hiccup off the elk's back. His body easily floated in the water. Only Astrid was his anchor.

She held him under the arms and started walking backward.

They had to go to the most sacred place in the forest. A place even she didn't dare to step foot.

She ignored the chill that ran up her spine as she felt the seaweed squishing beneath her feet give way to empty sand and, what she knew was, hard bones.

Toothless snorted and followed them at a distance.

Eventually, the water got shallower and she started dragging the boy over the sand, onto the edge of the little island.

Astrid was careful about leaving as little trace of her presence in this sacred place as possible. She carefully set the boy partially on the shore, letting the rest of his body wade in the water. She took the offered sapling out of her mouth and stabbed it in the soft dirt. She then looked down at Hiccup once more.

He had not once opened his eyes while she carried him. Leaning down, Astrid listened for his heartbeat.

It was very, very weak, but still there. Just barely.

Seeing Toothless staring at her from the water, she gave a little smirk. "You are very wise. You know better than to set foot on this island, don't you?"

Knowing there wasn't anything else she could do, she stood up and stretched some sore muscles. She sniffed the air curiously, then smelled her arm and the spot on her fur where his face had rested.

"Ugh, I stink like a human," she groaned to herself.

She waded back into the water, knowing she'd have to purposefully clean out the smell later. She swam back to the elk and reached out her hand. This time he let her touch him.

She gently unlatched the reins, pulling the strap over his ears and letting the noseband drop into her hand. She wrapped the rest of the length around her wrist.

"You can go wherever you want to. You're free now," she said.

Leaving it at that, she swam away.

Toothless shook his head, slightly relieved to have it off, but also feeling awkward without it.

All the kodama began to leave and walked back in lines into their mother trees. And still Toothless stayed there in the water, waiting.

…

The sky was just starting to lighten its blue hue and the stars started to disappear.

All the kodama sat in the branches of their mother trees. Each and every one of them was staring to the west, watching the moon start to set. Waiting…

A large figure faded into view in the distance. A giant shape walking toward them. Slow and lumbering, yet silent despite its size. It was so large, it covered part of the moon. Its body was somewhat see-through yet shined as though it held the stars of the night sky. Its many sprouting antlers protruding from its head, resembled shooting stars.

One kodama from the rest started to rattle its head. Then another joined in. And another. And another. Until soon, the whole forest was rattling with thousands of the spirits, welcoming the god home.

…

Not too far away, on a well-hidden hilltop, a man in a bear skin rustled in his sleep. It was Johan.

His eyes went big went as he looked up and saw the giant for himself.

"Finally!" he whispered in excitement. "There he is. Come and see. Hurry!" He said, turning to his fellow animal-skinned companions. When they didn't listen, raised an eyebrow. "Quick, you idiots. It's the Nightwalker. He's the reason we've been sitting around in these stinking skins, you know!"

But the pair of men with him shivered, shaking their heads. "But sir, we can't. It's a sin to look at it."

Johan sighed, "And you call yourselves the greatest hunters in the west?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a royal sealed letter. "Look, we've got a letter of pardon from the Emperor, forgiving us for cutting off the head of the Great Forest Spirit."

He turned and looked once more at the prize he was after. The giant took slower steps as it reached the awaiting kodama trees, bending far forward and seeming to shrink.

Johan grinned from his hiding place. "The legends tell us that when day becomes night, the Forest Spirit turns into the Nightwalker, and at sunrise, it changes back."

His eyes widened as he pulled his companion excitedly closer. "Look! See there? It's happening!"

Sure enough, the giant began to shrink in size, its antlers arching and spreading out while its skin seemed to change from the dark blue of night to as clear as the wind

Even as the wind surged through the treetops, making the branches sway, the kodama seemed to smile, enjoying the ride.

The wind rustled the branches of the tree on the small island, traveling downward, even pushing a small wave of water outwardly from the island.

The boy on the shore didn't stir.

Toothless stood very still.

The whole forest was peacefully silent.

Gentle footsteps approached, the grass rapidly growing and dying beneath its three-toed feet.

The deer god slowly approached the boy laying on its shore. Its red, human face almost looking like a mask.

After staring at the offered sapling for a while, he sighed on it and watched its leaves begin to brown and wither. One leaf broke off and fluttered down, resting on Hiccup's cheek.


	12. Okkoto

Chapter twelve – Okkoto*

As the sun began to rise higher with morning, Johan and his bear-skinned hunters were climbing a difficult part of the mountains to one of their little hideouts, hidden in the cliffs.

Johan had hired these men to help him find the elusive deer god. Johan was a 'jack of all trades and master of none', kind of fellow. But for this, he'd need an expert. Or experts.

They had made these hideouts weeks ago in the dead of night. After all, when one is looking for a priceless treasure, you can't be too careful of prying eyes. They were doing their best not to be seen, although that would be difficult while wearing a bear skin.

Johan was being extra cautious. Usually, he was patient to let his master plans take their time to unfold. But he always grew a bit anxious as the time to reap the fruits of his labors was arriving.

Besides, the sooner the better. He'd done his waiting, and tracking, and mapping as they attempted to follow the beast every night for weeks now. It was only just a couple days ago that they finally saw the huge creature for themselves and consistently saw it go to the same place in the forest to shrink with the coming dawn.

Johan was fairly certain of its location by now, but he knew the forest's canopy hid from view its treacherous and confusing terrain. It was still rumored no human had ever come out of that forest alive. Besides its dangerous wildlife, it was very easy to get lost.

But it seemed there was also another problem.

…

After finally climbing the cliffside, Johan cast one more cautious look over his shoulder before ducking into the small camouflaged hut – expertly made, but not much more than a simple frame and leafy shrubs for walls.

One hunter stayed outside as a guard while Johan met the other hunter inside. Word was, he'd needed to see this for himself.

"Take a look, Master Johan," the hunter said, moving aside for him.

Johan peered out of the hole with narrowed eyes. "What is it?"

"Over there," the hunter pointed.

In the distance, there was a large slab of rock cut from the mountain. Strangely, dozens of birds were circling the sky, the air thick with them, squawking to one another in a chorus. It was clear they were following something.

Then there was movement. Much bigger movement.

Johan's eyes widened.

He almost thought he saw boulders rolling up the incline, but it wasn't boulders. Boars upon boars came around the corner and started climbing up the cliffside of the rock in a single line.

"Look. There must be hundreds of them," he said in wonder.

The hunter beside him frowned. "Those boars are not from this region. They must have been traveling from months to get all the way up here."

Just then, at the top of the cliff, a gigantic boar stepped out of the forest and stood upon the rock's peak, overlooking the moving sounder. Despite his protruding ribs, and old wrinkles, he carried himself with dignity and pride. His snout was almost bald, the rest of his body covered in thin, silver hair.

"That one's Okkoto!" the man exclaimed in shock.

Johan looked at him skeptically. "Can't be. They say he died a hundred years ago!"

The hunter shook his head. "No. That's him, all right. I know those old tusks. And it looks like he brought along his whole tribe."

The great silver boar sniffed the air, then flicked his ears and turned his head. He narrowed his crusty eyes directly at them, as though he had heard them from so far away.

"He's seen us!" Johan yelped a little, jumping back. "Let's get out of here!"

The others didn't need much more convincing. No one wanted to get trampled into a pile of broken bones today.

The aged boar god lifted his head and opened his jaws, letting out a thunderous squeal that seemed to rattle the mountainside. His tribe raised their heads and squealed back in response, just as equally loud and terrifying as he. The sound continued to echo far into the distance.

…

Johan and his men quickly made their retreat, hurriedly trying to jump from rock to rock to cross a raging river. Johan urged them with impatience. "Come on, you cowards! Move! Quickly!"

He turned and hopped from rock to rock in his sandals like it was no problem. He was no stranger to making a calculated retreat, after all.

As he ran, shouldering his signature umbrella, Johan frowned in thought.

These boars posed a problem. Perhaps he needed one more expert to complete his ultimate plan. Perhaps it was time to visit an old friend.


	13. Healing

Chapter thirteen – Healing*

Hiccup was floating in darkness. He felt like he was under water, but he didn't need to breathe. He couldn't tell if he was warm or cold. He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't move. He was just… floating.

Soft, gentle footsteps approached him. Grass rapidly growing and dying beneath its three-toed feet…

Its presence felt… familiar…

…

A tiny drop of water splashed on Hiccup's face and woke him. He tried opening his eyes and was met with bright sunlight, dappled through a leafy green canopy. Birds twittered in the branches, out of sight.

He was almost lulled back to sleep but the persistent ache in his chest wouldn't go away. He moved his hand over the spot and felt a new hole in his shirt he didn't remember having before.

Then he opened his eyes with a start. He patted his hand over his chest in a moment of shock.

"The bullet wound is gone!" he thought, excitement betraying him for a moment.

He tried to sit up, but the pain made him lay back down. He definitely wasn't completely healed, but in comparison to the initial damage the bullet left, this was absolutely much better.

He knew the deer god must've healed him.

He opened his eyes again when he felt Toothless nibbling at his shoulder, licking his slobbery tongue over his face.

"Gah! Come on, bud! You know that doesn't wash out!" he groaned, but still chuckled heartily.

He petted Toothless, stroking the elk's chin. Just for a moment, he was genuinely happy, _happy to be alive. _

But that moment ended when he saw his hand. He didn't even need to remove his sleeve. He could see the mark now seeping over his palm, spreading toward his knuckles.

"The mark's still there…"

In a moment of pain and frustration and unfairness, Hiccup grit his teeth and fell back to the ground.

After traveling so far… not even the Forest Spirit and his healing water would save him.

Damn it. Damn it all…

…

After a while, Hiccup heard footsteps approaching. He slightly turned his head and looked with bleary eyes.

"Finally, you're awake," she said.

Even before his vision totally cleared, he knew it was her. He still didn't even know her real name, but it was her.

She had left behind her fur cape and red mask, but her dress was the same. Her blonde hair refracted the light of the sun as she stood over him, almost like a halo.

"You really should thank Toothless. He hasn't left your side this whole time."

Not wanting to reveal too much to her, he shoved down his feelings and opened his eyes again. "H-How did you know his name's Toothless?" he asked, weakly.

Then she did something he did not expect. She smiled as she scratched Toothless's chin.

"He told me, and he told me about you, about your village, your people and your forest," she answered. Then she frowned seriously at him again. "The Forest Spirit brought you back to life again. He wants you to live. He saved you for a reason, so I will help you."

She knelt down beside him and took out a large chunk of dried meat. She started tearing it to pieces with her teeth.

Hiccup didn't really notice her task or what she was doing it for. His head felt a pang of dizziness. "I.. had the strangest dream…" he mumbled, scrunching his eyes shut. "There was a golden creature…"

"Eat this," she ordered, holding something in front of his face.

She put a piece of what Hiccup could only assume was jerky in his mouth.

He coughed a little at the forced entry.

"Chew," she instructed as though telling a child. Not impatient, just firm.

Hiccup realized he felt weak all over, not even his jaw was strong enough to cooperate. His energy sapped quickly, he let the piece of jerky fall from his chin and land by his neck. The promise of food didn't seem worth it at this point.

Narrowing her eyes, the girl picked up the piece of jerky and put it in her mouth, chewing it herself.

He thought she was eating it for herself, not wanting to waste food on a pitiful creature like him. But he was sharply proven wrong.

He felt her bend over, hovering over him. Then he suddenly felt her lips pressed against his mouth, beckoning them to open.

His first instinct was to be repulsed. He didn't want to think about the slimy texture or the strange taste of… whatever it really was that she chewed up. But he was slightly surprised that the flavor wasn't that bad. Still, it was all he could do to work the muscles in his throat.

She sat back up and chewed some more meat without complaint.

It was definitely the most nurturing thing he'd ever seen her do.

Of course, he knew it was all worthless anyway.

He was going to die. He knew that. He'd thought he'd been mentally prepared for it. He thought his time had finally come. But no.

Here he was, still alive. Still hopelessly enjoying the small pleasures, still suffering for his mistakes…

His mouth tasted bitter. His throat felt tight. His face felt hot. He could feel tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. He kept his eyes shut tight, even as they spilled over.

Astrid never said anything. She didn't ask, and she didn't point it out.

She simply waited a little while longer to chew the jerky, giving him the opportune moment to wash down the bitter taste in his throat. Then she bent down, despite his reluctance, and fed him again.

It was probably the kindest thing anyone had ever done for him.


	14. Spirits Gathering

Chapter fourteen – Spirits Gathering*

It wasn't too long after that Hiccup went back to sleep. Astrid didn't pressure him to wake up again. She was content with taking a quiet moment and sitting in the sun, next to the elk that also seemed adamant about moving away from the boy.

Then Astrid heard gentle footsteps approaching through the forest and stood up. She blinked a little in surprise to see her mother emerge from the trees. But Moro didn't acknowledge her. Astrid followed her steady gaze and realized she was looking into the foliage, waiting for someone to arrive.

Soon, there was a faint rumbling of hooves, rustling in the brush, and dozens of boars emerged, leading hundreds more behind them. Astrid was a little surprised at the sight.

Nago's tribe had been all but nearly wiped out, driven out of the forest. These boars were new. Astrid had never met them before, but it was clear her mother had.

Still, remembering the attempt from the Ape tribe, Astrid stepped over Hiccup protectively.

She realized this was a spirit gathering, where the animal gods came together to address their concerns and other issues through council. Astrid had attended a few of them in her lifetime, but it was never really her place to participate. The gods commanded respect and spoke as representatives of their tribes. She would stay quiet and let her mother do most of the talking.

A slightly larger boar with a warty face stepped forward to meet Moro respectfully. "We are here to kill the humans and save the forest." He turned his snout to the boy and girl, huffing. "Why are there humans here, Moro?" he asked.

Moro gave a casual low growl in return. "Humans are everywhere these days. Go back to your own mountain. Kill them there. The girl is Astrid, my daughter." It was clear in her tone that the girl was not to be touched. Respectful, but a light threat nonetheless.

The boar answered back, "We will kill them _here_. We will save _this_ forest. What is that other human doing here?" his outrage growing.

With a nod from her mother, Astrid stood tall, raising her voice, "He was shot, and then the Great Spirit healed his wound. This man is not our enemy!"

The sounder of boars squealed in an uproar. "The Forest Spirit saved _him?!_ Saved the life of that lonesome runt?! Why didn't he save Nago? Is he not the guardian of the forest? Why?!"

Moro calmly answered, "The Forest Spirit gives life and takes life away. Life and death are his alone, or have you boars forgotten that?"

The boar stomped his hoof. "You lie! You must have begged the Forest Spirit to spare his life! But you did not beg for Nago, did you?"

Astrid bristled at the accusation, almost opening her mouth, but Moro simply replied, "Nago was afraid to die. I, too, carry within my breast a poisoned human bullet. Nago fled, and the darkness took him. I remain and contemplate my death."

As the goddess spoke, Astrid turned to her with wide eyes, her stomach dropping with each word. "Mother! Please ask the Forest Spirit to save you."

The wolf turned her giant head to her with soft, wise eyes. "I have lived long enough, Astrid. Soon, the Forest Spirit will let me rest forever."

Astrid shook her head vehemently. This couldn't be happening! Her mother was strong! Stronger than anyone!

"All these years you've defended the Forest Spirit! He _must_ save you!"

"You are not fooling us!" the boars squealed. "Nago was beautiful and strong. He would not have run from anything. You wolves must've eaten him!"

Astrid couldn't hold her tongue any longer. With fury, she turned on them and snapped, "Quiet! Watch what you say, you filthy pig!"

Her wolf brothers growled at her side. The boars stamped their hooves in agitation.

"Gods of the mountain, please listen to me…" Hiccup weakly spoke up.

The spirits turned to him and quieted down to listen. Astrid blinked, astonished to find him awake so soon after resting his eyes.

"Nago died far from here," the boy said, "I was the one who killed him. He had become some kind of demon. One day, he attacked our village… If you want proof, look at my hand where he touched me…"

He grunted a little and fumbled with his fingers as he untied his sleeve and pulled it down his arm. Hiccup wasn't surprised at the sight, but Astrid's eyes widened.

The skin had discolored to an even darker purple, completely engulfing his arm.

Hiccup clenched his hand. "I came here to beg the Forest Spirit to lift Nago's curse from me. He healed the bullet wound in my side, but the demon mark remains…"

He pursed his lips, his throat feeling tight. "First, it will tear my soul apart, and then it will kill me…"

Just then, another large figure approached from the forest, urging many boars to step aside.

Moro relaxed a bit. "Okkoto, finally, a boar who will listen to reason."

The giant silver boar slowly lumbered out of the trees, taking slow measured steps closer and closer to the boy. But he didn't stop at the inner circle of animals. Instead, he continued toward the weak boy in a direct line. His snout close enough to ruffle Hiccup's hair.

Astrid knew interrupting a god was never a good idea, some even considered it a crime, but she thought back to the Ape Tribe and grew worried. She moved to step in the way of the god, holding out her arms.

She beseeched him with a gentle tone, "No, Lord Okkoto, wait! Please, you mustn't eat him."

The giant boar turned his mighty head to her, sniffing. "Ah…" he said in an old yet mighty voice, "You are Moro's human child, aren't you? I have heard of you."

Astrid was struck with how kind and honorable he seemed. She could instantly tell he had lived the life of a warrior – a life that Astrid had planned to continue to follow for the rest of her days.

Suffice to say, she admired him. Respected him. He was living proof of a future that she'd imagined for herself.

Then she noticed his milky eyes.

"You're blind…"

But the god wasn't insulted. "Stand back, I will not eat him," he said, calmly.

Before she could answer, Hiccup spoke, "It's all right, Astrid." She looked between the god and the boy once more before stepping back. Hiccup gazed up at the boar. "My Lord Okkoto, what I said about Nago's death was the truth. I tell of Nago's end."

He weakly lifted his hand and the giant silver boar pointed his snout and took a deep inhale. The sound like rushing wind and a slight whistle as his great big lungs expanded.

The other boars waited for his diagnosis.

"Hmm…" Okkoto nodded, thoughtfully. "I believe you, and I thank you for it, young one. I am only grieved and ashamed that such a demon has come from our tribe."

The other boars whimpered quietly, their ears drooping sadly.

Hiccup worked up the energy to speak, "O mighty lord… is there a way to lift Nago's curse from me?"

The giant boar looked at him with steady narrowed eyes, frowning. "Leave this forest, for the next time we meet, I will have to kill you."

Hiccup couldn't argue with that.

Moro spoke up to her old friend, "You cannot win against the humans. Their guns will destroy you all."

Okkoto's lips stretched in a contemplative smile. "Look on my tribe, Moro. We grow small, and we grow stupid. We will soon be nothing but squealing game that the humans hunt for their meat."

"You'd risk everything on one last battle? That's just what the humans want," she said, sighing tiredly.

"I do not ask for the help of the wolf tribe," he said, gently. "Even if every one of us dies, it will be a battle the humans will _never forget_."

And with that, he turned and slowly walked back into the forest, the rest of his boars following him.

When the rumbling of hooves disappeared, the forest was quiet and peaceful once again.

Hiccup soon closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Astrid took a deep breath and sighed.

It seemed that was it. Battle lines were being drawn. With Moro injured, Astrid and her brothers had wanted to play things safe and went along with their mother's decision to stay out of the fight, at least for a while. But with things escalating the way they were, Astrid wasn't sure which decision was wiser.

Stay tactfully hidden in the forest with mother and defend the forest spirit? Or join the boars – united with more numbers than they've ever had before – and finally purge the humans from this mountain?

Astrid frowned. While she knew her mother was wise, the boar's offer did seem quite tempting…

Then she looked out over the water in the marsh and blinked.

"The Forest Spirit…" she breathed.

Not too far away, the deer god stood on the water, his neck bent down as he contentedly drank.

Astrid had no idea how long he'd been there, or if perhaps he'd been listening to them the whole time, but the deer god didn't give any indication that he did.

Flicking his ears, he looked up and blinked at them. Then he turned and trotted away, leaving small ripples behind him.


	15. Battling Asano

Chapter fifteen – Battling Asano*

**Thank you so much for your patience! Life's been busy – you know how it goes. Anyway, hope you like the extra-long chapter! And, yes, I included references from some of Miyazaki's original notes that didn't make it into the film. Enjoy! ;D **

Much further away to the countryside in the west, another caravan of oxen thundered down a grassy hillside, running away from the arrows that chased them. Their drivers had no trouble keeping the animals moving this time. Instead, the struggle was to keep the race-laden cattle together.

"Hyah! Hyah!"

"Come on! Keep your oxen together! Hurry!"

Of course, it was difficult when dozens of samurai were running down the hillside after them, all wearing armor and waving their swords in the air.

But between the cattle and the warriors was a heavy line of defense, guarded by Mala and her riflemen. The lady stood tall as her men knelt in the grass, shielded from arrows with their large red umbrellas. The samurai yelled as they charged toward them.

"Get ready now. Little bit closer… And fire!" she ordered.

The air in front of them erupted into smoke, the sound deafening. But Mala was used to the loud sound by now. She and her men barely flinched at the recoil.

When the smoke cleared, nearly two thirds of the samurai company had fallen, many of them severely injured or now losing a limb. The rest had scattered and ran away.

"Quickly! Reload!" Snotlout barked to his men.

Mala fitted her own rifle over her shoulder and took aim at one of the horse-mounted captains near the top of the hill. The man didn't get to finish his order when he was engulfed in a flash of smoke and fire. The men around him jumped back in alarm.

Mala calmly gave her now empty rifle to the woman beside her and exchanged it for another loaded gun. She took aim again, narrowing her eyes in focus.

Another captain fell from his horse, despite the wooden shields that the samurai had placed to defend against arrows. Mala huffed amusingly. As if those shields would do them any good.

…

Not too far away, Johan came over a different, peaceful hill that hadn't been touched by the battle yet. He sighed at the sight below him. "Well, I see somebody is going to have to go play the peacemaker…"

He nodded to one of his men. "Take our riflemen and hide behind the cliffs."

The man nodded. "Yes, sir."

With haste, he turned and returned to a small group of twenty men, all cautiously hiding in the grass.

"Let's go," the man ordered.

At once, they all stood up and marched away in a single efficient line.

Johan lightly called after them, "And stay there 'til I send for you."

…

"Come one! Let's keep the oxen moving! We have to get back to Iron Town!" the oxen drivers called.

Mala calmly walked down the path back toward home. Snotlout and a couple of his men were following close behind, firing a few more rounds to scare off any enemy followers.

…

Back in Iron Town, a dozen women stood guard over the giant gate. They waited anxiously for their men to come back.

"There they are!" shouted one, pointing in the distance.

Sure enough, a line of oxen and their drivers came plodding down the path cut into the side of the mountain.

Along this path, Johan casually sat on a rock and waited patiently. The other oxen drivers paid him no mind, even as two of their riflemen marched up to him to report. He was their boss after all. It was common knowledge that Lady Mala had hired these men through this odd stranger.

"Good work," he said in a hushed tone, "Go and spread the word. We'll be moving out presently."

The two riflemen both nodded and hurried away.

Johan yawned a little as he waited, then he smirked as the line of oxen progressed and the one he was waiting for finally came into view.

Hopping off his rock, Johan casually joined the back of the line, where Mala was marching. His feet walking tandem with hers.

"Greetings, Johan," she said, not the least bit surprised to see him.

Johan plodded beside her like a casual friend. "Well, I've got the Emperor breathing down my neck, and you're busy playing war with Lord Asano…"

"And you would have nothing to do with Lord Asano being here, now, would you?" she replied, her eyes set forward.

"Of course not. Whatever made you think that?" he brushed off.

"He'll call a truce if I give him half my iron," she said.

Johan gave a big chuckle, knowing how that discussion must've gone. "Is that right? Well, he's a greedy bastard, isn't he?" He glanced over to her, hushing his tone, "But all the same, you might as well let him have his iron. Listen, Mala, the boars are gathering for battle. And you know what that means. You made me a promise. Now, once you get me the head of the Forest Spirit, then we can come back and destroy Lord Asano together, huh?" he reminded her.

Her face remained stoic the whole time.

"Watch out, milady! There's a horseman coming! Get in!" a girl called from the watchtower above the gate.

Johan and Mala stopped and turned to look behind them. Much further down the path, a fancily dressed man riding on a horse was galloping toward them, behind him followed two guards, carrying the banner of Asano and the white banner of negotiation.

Johan smirked. "Well, speak of the devil, a messenger from Lord Asano."

Mala turned on her heel and continued inside. "We have guests. Mind your manners, ladies," she called up to the girls.

"We will!" they replied together.

Snotlout guarded the door, aiming his rifle outside the gate just in case an enemy suddenly approached.

"Welcome home, milady!" a bunch of people inside greeted Mala politely. As a guest, Johan simply followed behind her.

He jumped as the giant gate came down with a loud boom behind him, shaking the ground so much he almost tripped.

He looked back and forth between the gate and the lady in confusion. "Whoa! Wait! Won't you even talk to the man?" he asked.

But he never got a response.

…

Outside the gate, the rider on horseback and his guards came to a stop on the threshold of the bridge that spanned Iron Town's island to the main land.

The messenger raised his voice and spoke with regal importance, "Lady Mala, mistress of Iron Town! I bring a message to you from my Lord Asano. You have fought valiantly and well. Now, open your gate so we may speak with you!"

The girls in the watchtower all frowned. One of them huffed, "We can hear you just fine from down there!"

Helgi barked, "Milady took this mountain away from the gods, the boars and beasts!"

Another joined in, "And now that it's worth something, you want it!"

"Well, you won't get it!" Kari shouted.

The messenger struggled a little to get his mount to stay still, but his rising anger didn't help his horse calm down. "The brazen impudence! You ladies need to be taught some respect!" he yelled.

Phlegma laughed, "Respect? What's that?"

"We haven't had any respect since the day we were born!"

And they all simultaneously stuck out their tongues and made silly faces, mocking the man.

Ingrid shouldered her rifle and aimed down at him. "Ha! You want some iron? Here ya go!"

With a bang, the rifle fired, and the ground exploded with smoke near the horse's hooves. The man could not control his beast as the poor horse panicked and bucked sharply in the air. Taking off, the horse ran and the rider desperately (and embarrassingly) struggled to hold on. His guards quickly followed after him.

All the women laughed and laughed at the fancy man, brought down to his level. They knew that arrogant type of man all too well. Telling them what to do, how to look and act. To hell with them!

…

Inside the town, Johan gave a big chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, your girls are really something! They'll fight forest gods or samurai. It doesn't matter to them. They're an amazing bunch, your girls. They were wasted in the brothels."

He sat beside Mala on the front porch outside her house. The villagers walked busily as they went about with their work. Mala's eyes scanned across the letter he'd handed her. "Impressive, for a piece of paper," she said, smirking slightly.

"Well, you know, it's gotten me all the best hunters and trappers around. Remember, my dear lady, we're after a god, not just a beast," he teased.

He blinked in mild surprise as Mala waved her hand and called a couple girls over. "Girls, come here."

"Yes, milady? What is it?" they asked.

"Come look, do you recognize this?" Mala asked, holding up the letter for them to read.

The girls looked confused. Despite their age, they had only started learning how to read and write a couple years ago, since they'd left their brothel and came to Iron Town. By now they could read standard shipping labels and tally accounts, but nothing like this fancy-worded document.

"Do you know have any idea who this paper has come from?" Mala asked again, but the girls shook their heads. "From the Emperor himself."

The girls blinked and raised their eyebrows. "That's nice. Who's he?" said one.

"Is he supposed to be somebody important?" the other gave a little laugh.

The other chided back. "I'm serious. Who is he? Should we know?"

Johan furrowed his brow; Mala had made her point clear. He light-heartedly rubbed his head again, "Yes! They're really something."

The woman handed back the letter to him and Johan carefully folded it back into his pocket. He rolled his eyes to himself. Even if Mala's people wouldn't be swayed, the paper was still valuable to other _rational_ people.

Mala waved the girls to go back to their chores and sat back a little, smirking to the monk she knew as a morally grey conman. Despite having known each other for years and working together a few times in the past, the man still never changed. Always after a promised bounty, the next get-rich-quick scheme.

Mala smirked. She wasn't like him. He was like the wind, never to be tethered down. Like a crow, he picked off scraps from the privileged. But she was different.

She had to fight tooth and nail to get where she is. Johan may have given her the idea to seek out opportunity in Japan, but _she_ was the one who baited her time and learned by watching her 'masters'. _She_ was the one who broke herself out of her prison. And _she_ was the one who rallied a mutiny which took over that very same slave ship that captured her and became its new pirate captain. _She_ was how she became Lady Mala.

And the trick had been so mind-numbingly simple. Throw away fear. Lead by example, and others would follow.

But nothing in this world came for free. Everything had a price. Those at the top held all the power. But she would rise higher. She would carve out her own life.

"Every day that we cut trees and dig for iron, the forest and its creatures grow weaker. My way, there is no loss of life, Johan," she answered.

Johan sneered back, his voice gaining a slightly shady edge to it, "Listen, you owe me, and I've come to collect. When you needed riflemen, I sent them, and without those riflemen, you lose Iron Town." He caught himself and changed back to a light-hearted tune, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did that sound like a threat?"

Mala's lips stretched a little wider in her smile. As if she'd expect anything less from him. He may have been using her, but she was using him too. That had always been apparent between them. In a strange way, she had liked that about him.

"Don't tell me the Emperor believes that wives' tale about the Great Spirit's head granting immortality," she huffed, shaking her head at the absurdity of it.

Johan chuckled, "I'm sure I don't know what the Emperor believes. I'm just a humble monk. I'm just trying to get by."

Of course he was. Aren't we all?

Mala rose to her feet, holding her head high. "I keep my promises. Anyway, we have fought the boars before. They're much easier to kill than Moro and her wolf cubs." She narrowed her eyes and smirked her red lips. "So you can call out that shady bunch you've got hidden under the cliff, Johan."

Johan smirked back. As if he'd expect anything less from her. Always so prepared. Never letting anything slip by without her noticing.

He gave a big laugh, rubbing his pot-belly, "So I've been found out, eh?"

As she started walking away, he remembered something.

"Oh, just one more thing, milady," he called after her. "Did a stranger come through here, by chance?"

She stopped in the road and turned to listen.

"He's a young man riding a great big red elk," Johan said, with casual curiosity.

Mala shrugged. "Came and went," was her simple reply.

…

Later in the day, more and more of Johan's men came down from their hideouts in the mountains. Hunters and riflemen and specially trained monks alike, all marching through the gate of Iron Town.

Many of the citizens didn't like the change to their numbers. Hiring the moderately small number of experienced riflemen they had before was one thing, but this? It almost felt like an attack was imminent within their walls.

The citizens watched as the hired men quietly made themselves at home, eating in their tight groups.

"A bad-looking bunch if you ask me," An older woman complained.

Tuffnut frowned seriously. "Those men are no ordinary hunters. They're killers," he muttered, eyeing their mysterious weapons and serious-looking fur dresses.

…

His other twin was having a similar discussion about the strangers with another group of women. They'd gathered in Lady Mala's house in secret, and she distributed to each of them a new rifle. After a lesson on how to reload and fire the weapon, the topic switched to why they were being given these weapons now.

"Milady, at least let some of us go with you!"

"Yes, you can't trust these men. They're strangers."

"What if something goes wrong and we're stuck here? We can't help you!"

"You said yourself we're better shots than the men are!"

Mala smiled, warmed by their loyalty. "That's precisely why I want you all here in Iron Town. I can deal with forest gods. It's humans I'm worried about. Once the Forest Spirit is dead, we don't know what will happen. Will Johan be satisfied with the creature's head or will he be after my ironworks as well? Johan's riflemen may turn on us." She looked to each of their solemn faces, grim with determination. "If that happens, I'll need every one of you here to fight them. Remember, you can't trust men."

The women all nodded resolutely. "Right!"

Snotlout took a step forward, uncharacteristically resolute. "Don't worry about her ladyship. I'll be right at her side, protecting her."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "That's what we're afraid of."

Snotlout glared with a huff, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ruffnut groaned, "Even if you were a woman, you'd still be an idiot!"

Mala burst into laughter with the other girls, the mood lightened once more.


	16. A Day at the Hot spring

Chapter Sixteen – A Day at the Hot spring*

**Finally! I know you've been asking me to add to the story so that it wouldn't be the same as the movie. It was a challenge because, I mean, what do you add to the original story, which I personally rate 10 out of 10? But, I thought a lot about it, and it's finally here! So, I hope you enjoy. If not, well, I don't blame you for liking the original movie more. (Heck, I do! I was just doing this as a creative prompt.) So yeah, enjoy! ;D **

**P.S. You can thank my friend, Marie, for helping me finish this chapter! **

Moro sat on her rock, bathing in the early morning sun, silent in contemplation, her eyes closed. Her ears twitched as she listened to the soft murmurings of the wind. Today, the forest was quiet. She didn't hear much trampling of hooves. It seemed Okkoto would wait just one more day before attacking. She could also hear the humans in their village, setting out for their camp further upriver.

Everything would change come dawn tomorrow.

The wolf goddess knew she wasn't long for this world. The ache in her chest grew by the hour. She wasn't afraid of death. But with her gone, she wondered what would become of her tribe. What would become of her children? Especially Astrid.

Soft feet padded on the ground, approaching her, followed by a heavy drag. She didn't need to turn to know who it was.

Her elder two sons worked together to drag the remains of an ox in front of her. Finally plopping it down at her paws, they bowed their heads and she inclined her head to them in thanks. Astrid stood to the side, frowning.

She was worried, Moro could tell. Despite the girl's blank stare, her face and body language always betrayed a bit of her emotions. Her eyes watched every bite Moro took of the offered meat. It was clear she noticed the goddess wasn't having much of an appetite anymore.

Moro nodded for her sons to leave.

"Stay with me, daughter?" she asked.

Astrid approached obediently and knelt down beside her. They sat in silence for a while before Moro spoke.

"How are you?" she asked.

Astrid blinked. For as long as she'd known her mother, Moro didn't seem very concerned with sentiments. Chores were to be done, boarders protected, disagreements among the spirits quelled. There just never was really time for letting emotions get in the way. But now that her mother was asking her on the spot, Astrid struggled to feel any worry at all.

"Me? I'm fine! Just fine," she answered, a little flustered.

"You've grown a lot from that babe I found in the woods," the goddess said.

Astrid felt a blush of pride color her cheeks. Moro rarely gave praise. She never expressed favoritism at all. But as a child, Astrid was determined to keep up with her new family.

It was obvious the girl would never be able to run as fast as her brothers, or have teeth as sharp as theirs, or the strength and endurance to travel for miles without rest. But Astrid was a quick learner and picked up on their wolfish techniques with a zeal.

But aside from their tribe, Moro doubted the thought even crossed the girl's mind if she ever wanted something… _more_ in her life.

Despite how Astrid chose to identify herself, she was inevitably human. She would have needs that the spirits of the forest simply did not. Even if the girl would adamantly insist that she didn't want those human needs appeased.

Well, the choice was up to her.

"Did you want something, mother?" Astrid asked.

Moro seemed to smirk. "I want you to spend some time with the boy."

Astrid looked up at her in surprise and confusion. "What? Why?"

The wolf nodded. "I want you to learn from him. He seems to trust you."

"Learn _what_ exactly?" Astrid asked.

Her mother smirked but didn't answer. Sensing a greater lesson at play, Astrid didn't push for one.

The girl buried her face in her fur, nodding obediently. "Yes, mother. Just get better, okay?"

Moro sighed contentedly, "That's my girl."

…

"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked, following her deeper in the forest.

Astrid pushed aside more branches in their way, at first ignoring him before answering, "You were complaining about an ache in your chest. Well, it's not as powerful as the Forest Spirit's water, but it's still a good place for healing."

She looked back and realized he'd stopped to wave to a few kodamas. Astrid rolled her eyes and waved impatiently for him to keep up.

"Then the sooner you're healed, the sooner you get out of my hair," she muttered.

She didn't seem or notice or care when she let go of a branch and it smacked Hiccup in the eye.

Soon enough, the path opened up and she waved her hand.

"We're finally here," she said.

Sure enough, out of the steam appeared frothing pools of water. A thick layer of steam curling in the air, with an interesting smell that Hiccup couldn't place.

He was about to ask Astrid, but he froze and gawked at her.

Without a word, she suddenly started peeling off her clothes, her movements nothing but methodical. Hiccup quickly turned away, hiding his bright red face.

"Why are you looking away?" she asked, her feet dipping in the pool.

Hiccup still didn't look. He didn't want to replay in his mind how much of her well-toned skin he'd just seen. "No reason. Thought I heard something," he said as an excuse, pretending to be on alert.

Astrid rolled her eyes and huffed, "Humans are so weird."

Once he heard her dip fully into the water, Hiccup felt more comfortable taking sidelong glances at her, trying to resume polite eye contact.

"Don't just stand there," she huffed, rolling her eyes before dunking her head under water.

Sighing, Hiccup turned and slowly undressed, both to ease his aching muscles and be discreet. When he finally stepped into the water on his side of the pool, he almost felt like melting into it.

"Oh, wow. That's… That's _good_," he moaned in satisfaction.

"Right?" Astrid smiled.

They sat in peaceful silence, taking the moment to relax. They stayed mostly on opposite sides of the pool.

His eyes grew a little wider as he took in the scars that crisscrossed over her skin.

She caught him staring but didn't seem to mind. She smirked a little. "Most of them were my brothers' faults. We used to wrestle a lot as pups."

"Did they hurt you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Only to help me get better," Astrid answered. She seemed to smile at a distant memory. "I was always the slowest one… It was hard to keep up sometimes, but mother was always patient. Strict but patient…"

Her eyes seemed to drift, and he caught her staring at his dark bruised arm. Hiccup asked, "Does my arm bother you?"

She quickly looked up at him and furrowed her brow. "No! Just… I was wondering… does it hurt?" she asked.

Hiccup shook his head. "Not really. Sometimes, my arm seemed to get a mind of its own and feel like its burning. But ever since I used it last time in Iron Town, it hurts less. I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad one…"

They relaxed in peaceful silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest. At some point, Astrid had drifted closer to him.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing.

Hiccup looked down at his chest, then remembered the necklace still hanging there.

"Oh. That's my sister's. Well, _was_ my sister's," he answered, holding it out of the water. "I made it for her birthday."

"You _made _this?" Astrid asked, astonished. She swam a little closer.

"It was supposed to keep her safe…" Hiccup said with a frown, looking at it and his broken reflection in its surface, crestfallen. "She gave it back to me when I left."

Astrid didn't fill the silence with an apology or condolences. After a while, she spoke again.

"Do you miss her?" she asked.

Hiccup nodded, solemnly. "Of course, I do. I miss my mom, Gothi, even my old friend, Fishlegs. But with this curse, I would be a danger to them…"

Astrid pursed her lips. "If the curse was gone, would you return to them?" she asked.

Hiccup dipped his head in the water, slicking back his hair, then sat back and sighed heavily. "I don't know. I've only really thought about braving the odds of finding a cure. But even if I _did_ go back, I'd still technically be a criminal. I broke one of our most sacred laws; never slay a god. And there's no erasing that from my conscience..."

Astrid frowned. Just for a flash, there was a glint of deep sympathy in her eyes. But it was gone before Hiccup was sure.

Astrid bit her lip and changed topic.

"You could have a home among those people," she muttered, although Hiccup couldn't tell if there was inflection in her voice or not. "You could probably have any share of the women there."

Hiccup almost spat out the water filling his mouth. Thumping his chest, he harshly swallowed it down. "Yes, well… While they are lovely people, but I don't think Ruffnut or her friends are really my type."

She cocked her head to the side. "Oh? So what is your 'type'?"

Hiccup frowned. "Beautiful. Intelligent. Fierce… Inhuman…"

And totally unobtainable…

He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away.

"Why the interest in my people?" he asked.

Astrid shrugged. "Just curious. I've never met a group of humans like yours before."

Hiccup glanced at the elk as Toothless shrugged. "Yeah, well, my village is supposed to stay a secret to the rest of the world, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

She nodded. "Understandable."

Just then, Hiccup suddenly felt a chill in his blood. His arm suddenly pulsed. There was a faint rustle, just behind them. Yellow eyes watching them…

Hiccup's heart suddenly leapt in his throat. "Look out!"

A long green shape leapt out of the brush and snapped its jaws on the spot they used to be. It hissed and flickered a forked tongue, narrowing sharp yellow eyes.

"What is that?!" Hiccup cried.

Astrid didn't answer him. She crawled out of the water and ran to get her spear where she left it, but the snake blocked her path, hissing at her.

It thrust and jabbed toward Astrid, narrowly missing her, making the girl dodge and summersault away.

For a moment, the two locked eyes with each other, glaring. But then it flickered its tongue and glanced at Hiccup, still in the water. Hiccup had no feeling in his limbs. He was frozen, but his thoughts ran rampant.

Was this another god? Or a demon? Would attacking only make things worse? Was this fate coming to claim him?

But there was no time to think. In the blink of an eye, the giant snake leapt at him, opening its wide jaws. A black hole awaiting him.

But this time, Astrid was faster. She made a wild jump in the air and grabbed the snake by the tail, pulling it just inches away from Hiccup's face. In fury, it whirled around, intent on biting her. Moving fast, Astrid grabbed it by the throat and wrestled it down. As they both struggled, they fell into the pool. The snake writhed in the water, splashing hot water and blinding Hiccup.

With nothing else to pin it down, Astrid opened her mouth wide and bit down on the side of the snake's neck. Blood seeped out, covering her face, but Astrid wouldn't let go.

Eventually, the snake's body stopped coiling in retaliation and was still.

Astrid didn't relax until she was sure it was dead.

Finally, she answered Hiccup, panting slightly, "That… was an uwabami, a giant snake." She wiped away the blood from her mouth, spitting wads of red spit with disgust. "They prey on animals and humans in small isolated groups. I had not seen one in many years… I'll have to tell mother about it later."

He stared at her with amazement that she could talk about an attack so calmly. "How did you survive all these years?"

She chuckled a little, the blood still staining her teeth making her look a little mad. "I learned quickly. Besides, I had a good family to look after me."

Which brought another question to Hiccup's mind.

"When I was with the people of Iron Town, they told me many stories about you."

"Oh?" she said, cleaning off her face. "What did they say?"

He pursed his lips. "They said that the spirits had stolen your soul."

She scrunched her face in annoyance. "Well, that's ridiculous. How can I be alive without a soul? Do they think I'm a ghost?"

"No, I mean…" He bit his lip, choosing his words carefully. "They basically believe that the spirits had brainwashed you, stolen your heart, your humanity... That you're a monster…"

She turned and gave him a long look. "Do I look like a monster?" she asked.

Hiccup swallowed.

Yes, she did. A very frightening, terribly beautiful monster.

He didn't know how to answer, so he said nothing. She didn't press for an answer.

…

It was a while later before they spoke again. To be safe, Astrid disposed of the uwabami's body further in the woods. After she returned, they both cleaned up and redressed, ready to head back.

The sun was setting in the west and casting a sliver of orange and pink on the horizon to a giant purple sky. A few stars winked into existence. The croaks of frogs sang a chorus somewhere, hidden in the dark expanse of the forest.

The two of them walked up a grassy hillside. A few fireflies wafted lazily in the air. Of course, Astrid looked beautiful even in this lighting. But somehow, this only made the weight in Hiccup's chest grow heavy again.

He slowed down in his stride and Astrid noticed. She looked at him curiously.

"Why don't you care about your life?" he asked softly.

Astrid blinked, a bit surprised by his question, but she supposed it wasn't inappropriate.

"Why do you care about my life?" she retorted.

Hiccup frowned in thought. "I just can't believe it's that simple for anyone to choose to throw their life away."

Astrid furrowed her brow. "Wouldn't you sacrifice yourself for your home? Isn't that what you chose to do when you shot Nago? You made a choice and put your home above yourself. How is that different from me and my cause?"

"It isn't," Hiccup answered, "But that's the point. You shouldn't aspire to be like me. Just look at me." He held up his arm in emphasis.

Astrid frowned at his arm, but shook her head. "I told you before, I am not afraid to die. I am willing to do anything. It's what needs to be done."

She moved to step around him when he suddenly reached out and gripped her wrist, squeezing it almost tight enough to form a bruise. The action got a reaction out of her.

"There is always a choice, Astrid. Always," he said, his eyes somehow soft yet sharp. "You don't have to continue a fight your tribe started. You may think that your home is the most important thing, but it's not. Because it's not who you are. Because you're better than this!"

"Better than what?" she huffed.

_Better than me!_ He wanted to shout. But that's not what he said.

"Better than Okkoto. Better than Moro. Better than continuing this senseless fighting!"

Astrid's eyes flashed as she ripped her arm out of his grasp. "If you think I can just 'let it go' then you don't know me at all!"

She seethed as she stomped further up the path, but she slowed down, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shaking her head.

"Why am I even talking about this with you? You wouldn't understand. You're an idiot," she said.

"You're one to talk," he muttered.

Astrid stiffened and turned.

"Something else you'd like to say?" she asked with a slight growl.

Hiccup felt like growling back. "For a girl who claims to be so wise, you're so willing to throw your life away."

She rolled back her head and groaned, "Why does my life matter to you so much?"

"Because unlike me, you actually have a chance!" he snapped. "A chance to make things right!"

"And what is that, Hiccup?" she yelled. "Run away like a coward? A lot of good that did you!"

"Says the girl willing to make a suicide run," he muttered, spitefully. "Admit it. In Iron Town, you didn't even have a real plan, did you? Even if you did succeed, you knew you'd never make it out of the village alive."

One of her brothers bristled at him in anger, growling threateningly. But the other bristled and shrank back a little, as though startled with shame. Astrid was somewhere in the middle.

She glowered darkly. "You humans are all alike," she spat.

He shook his head. "Maybe I shouldn't have expected the princess of spirits to have a heart."

Just for a moment, Astrid's eyes went big, her face slack with utter betrayal. A gasp hitched in her throat. If she _did_ have a heart, it just broke in two.

Then her face clouded, returning to a wolfish snarl. She narrowed her eyes and glared.

"You're right," she growled, "I don't."


	17. Moonlit Night

Chapter seventeen – Moonlit Night*

_In the moonlight I felt your heart _

_Quiver like a bowstring's pulse _

_In the moon's mere light _

_You looked at me _

_Nobody knows your heart _

Hiccup was restless. His arm was throbbing, and he couldn't sleep. He shuddered in cold sweat.

When he opened his eyes, for a moment he didn't recognize where he was. The air was still and earthy. The ceiling was rock. A soft glow from the moon shined through the cave opening.

He turned his head over and saw Astrid sleeping peacefully on a bed of leaves beside him. She only shifted in her sleep to curl deeper into her fur cape, which she now used as a blanket.

_When the sun has gone I see you _

_Beautiful and haunting but cold _

_Like the blade of a knife_

_So sharp, so sweet _

_Nobody knows your heart _

He watched her sleep for a while.

This girl who had been prepared to kill him, had just as easily taken care of him. Although she kept her distance after their fight and mostly gave him the silent treatment, she still dutifully cared for him.

At a glance, he realized her dagger wasn't near her. At the moment, she was completely vulnerable to him. Granted, he had no idea where she'd hidden his sword, but the gesture didn't go unnoticed. For all she knew, Hiccup could take his chance and kill her in her sleep. But even now, Astrid trusted him. She had that much faith in his life's worth.

For a moment, his pulse quickened.

He winced as his arm started aching again, much sharper than before. Holding his breath, so as to not wake her, he shifted out from under his own fur blanket.

Deciding to get some fresh air, and collect himself, he quietly stepped out of the cave, looking off into the distance.

_All of your sorrow, grief and pain _

_Locked away in the forest of the night _

_Your secret heart belongs to the world… _

_Of the things that cry in the night_

_Of the things that sigh in the night… _

The moon was full and bright. The forest was quiet and peaceful. A gentle blue hue washing over the dark green canopy. The same river where he'd met Astrid for the first time cut through the valley like a silver ribbon.

"You know, you could always jump, boy," said a deep, melodious voice. "End it all…"

Hiccup turned around and looked up. Laying above the cave, with her paws crossed beneath her, sat the wolf goddess Hiccup had seen by the river. From his angle, she somehow looked even larger. His whole body could easily fit inside her mouth, his head crushed like a nut between her powerful jaws.

This was Moro. Astrid's mother.

He could definitely see the resemblance.

"As soon as your strength returns, the mark will spread and destroy you," she said, not giving either hint of pity or delight.

Hiccup was brave and held his gaze on her.

"It feels like I must have been asleep for weeks. Like it had all been a dream that Astrid was by my side, nursing me," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

The goddess chuckled, "I was hoping you'd cry out in your sleep. Then I would have bitten your head off to silence you."

How strange that they could talk to each other so casually. Almost like equals, yet worlds apart.

Hiccup looked out into the distance. "It's a beautiful forest." He glanced back up at her on her throne of rock. "Are Okkoto and the boars on the move yet?" Hiccup asked.

Moro seemed to frown. "Yes, the boars are marching," she growled. She lifted her head and gazed up at the distant winking stars. "The trees cry out as they die, but you cannot hear them. I lie here. I listen to the pain of the forest and feel the ache of the bullet in my chest and dream of the day when I will finally crunch that gun woman's head in my jaws."

Hiccup studied her.

Moro seemed so impartial, so wise, so tired. Even now, she didn't refer to Mala by her name. Simply, 'that gun woman'.

"Moro, why can't the humans and the forest live in peace together?" he asked, taking a step. "Why can't we stop this fighting now?"

She dug her claws slightly in the stone beneath her paws. "The humans are gathering for the final battle. The flames of their guns will burn us all."

Hiccup frowned. "And what happens to Astrid? What's your plan, to let her die with you?"

The goddess huffed, drawing herself taller, ears perked. "Typical. Selfish. You think like a human. Astrid is my daughter. She is of the wolf tribe. When the forest dies, so does she."

Hiccup clenched his jaw. It wasn't fair. She shouldn't be condemned to die over a pointless war, the same way he was.

"You must set her free! She's not a wolf! She's human!" he snapped.

"Silence, boy! How dare you speak to a god like that," Moro snarled, her lips curling to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Her eyes were sharp and critical. "I caught her human parents defiling my forest. They threw their baby at my feet as they ran away. Instead of eating her, I raised her as my own. Now my _poor, ugly, beautiful_ daughter is neither human nor wolf… How can you help her?"

Hiccup bowed his head. Because she was absolutely right. What could he do?

"I don't know…" he answered, "But at least we might find a way to _live_."

The goddess cackled a mighty laugh, her shoulders bouncing, her lips stretching and flashing her teeth in a ghoulish smile. "_How?_ Will you join forces with Astrid and fight the humans?"

Hiccup shook his head. "No. All that does is cause more hatred."

Moro sighed heavily, "There is nothing you can do, boy. Soon the demon mark will spread and kill you. Leave this place at sunrise. Return and I shall kill you."

…

Back inside the cave, Hiccup frowned as he sat down on his furs. It seemed everybody wanted to kill him these days.

He didn't notice Astrid stirring slightly in her sleep or when she opened her eyes and simply watched him, silently.

He was finally pulled from his thoughts when she asked, "You feeling alright?"

He turned to her and nodded, a small quirk of a smile tugging his lips. "I'm fine, thanks to you and the Forest Spirit."

She tiredly sighed and snuggled into her fur, closing her eyes again. She was soon carried off and steadily breathing once more.

Hiccup pursed his lips, somehow fighting between a smile and a frown. But with his thoughts all jumbled in a mess, it was no wonder. He'd never been confronted with something so complicated, so_ controversial,_ in his life. As prince, he'd always strived to be an openminded individual, and thought of himself as a passivist at heart. There had never been a problem he had seen in his village resolved without a middle ground, a vital aim to compromise.

Was there really no alternative? Was he really just useless to their struggle? Was it really his fight to participate in? He only met Astrid and Mala a few days ago. He was practically a stranger to them all. What difference could he possibly make?

He just wanted peace. Why couldn't that happen?

He covered Astrid with his fur blanket, giving her some of his warmth in return.

Who was he kidding? He wasn't a hero. It was all he could do just to pause the fight. He was just one man. A man doomed to meet a painful end.

…

**I apologize for the wait, but in summary, I really,**_** really **_**need a new computer. Updates will just happen when they happen. So, no promises. Thank you for following anyway. **


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